DC guide/theorycrafting for DPS/solo/etc?

mjonis

Long time ago, we had Kaelic's guide, and since then I've not seen anything similar. Here's my issue/dilemma and maybe someone far more knowledgeable than I knows if there's something out there.

My main is a CW. I mostly solo (I took an absence around mod 9, so I'm playing catch up with boons for Mod 10,11, and not really doing much with Chult yet). Anyway, essentially we had Ironzerg's guide, and Sharpedge's theory/information which helped greatly with explaining some of the mechanics.

Obviously CW are essentially here's either MoF or Thaumaturge and if AoE, you use "this" and single target you use "that".

DC's are more complex than that, and I'd say far more "flexible"?
RiDO, RiAC, solo, party, dps (?), buff/debuff, heals/etc.

And we have loadouts now. I've always played a DO (or whatever it may have been since Beta). I had started a new character to try out AC, and then took my break and now loadouts are here.

Essentially I'm playing catch up on that character as well (currently RiDO), so it's solo'ing River District which means DPS. (I don't think you can buff/debuff your way through the mobs, unfortunately).

Is there some sort of guide/info that lays it out (I'm not necessarily looking for a build, I'd like to understand *why*):

RiDO:
solo - DPS - AoE
solo - DPS - single target
group - buff/debuff- AoE and/or single target
group - heals (?)

RiAC
solo - DPS (?) - AoE
solo - DPS (?) - single Target
group - ?? (I don't know) AoE/Single Target


For example, back in Mod 7 or 8 (can't remember which), it had been suggested RiDO for solo survivability as a "DPS" and use say, Astral Shield, Divine Glow (for some heals and debuff on the enemies) and Daunting Light. However, I found that having to dodge too much with Astral Shield and ended up using Chains. Seemed to work well. In a Group, it depended on if there was a healadin or whatnot. If I was "heals" I think it was Astra Shield, Divine Glow and BoH. I seem to remember that PoD was bugged at some time?

Anyway, fast forward to now. RD is giving me some trouble, the mobs (especially in dig sites if you happen to be lucky and get a Bone Bolem or PlageChanged Maw in conjunction with those nasty dryads). My CW of course has no issues due to mob control/AoE. My DC, not so much.

For example, I don't understand why some people say they use 3 chains on divinity vs. Daunting Light. Or why PoD doesn't get any "love" (I'm presuming it's fixed but then again the tooltip is very vague about "lot of damage"). Although I'm finding that a lot of the RD creatures are either immune to Chains (they just walk right through it without being bound), and those sneaky dryads seem to "sense" when you've done an empowered DL and slide back on you.

So if someone knows of a site somewhere that is pertinent to the current mod and explaining some things that would be great. If not, but someone knows and wouldn't mind imparting some wisdom here, I'd be very greatful.

Once I get the boons and the RD weapon unlocked, then I'd like to focus on group content so that'll begin the buff/debuff vs. heals vs. AC.

Thanks!

pitshade

No links but some thoughts on solo encounter bar.

For my setup Q, E, R (order doesn't matter, it just how I like)

Q:
- Chains of Blazing Light. Good DPS power, meh control. Buggy visuals since mod 10.5 and now doesn't trigger as a trap sometimes on uneven ground) Used for direct damage. Primary attack is DL not in use
- Astral Shield. Good defense but many times there are so many knocks and prones it isn't worth it. Good for HEs with a lot of AoE (No Sympathy etc...)

E
- Divine Glow. Always there.

R
- Daunting Light. Big hit damage but easy to miss. Primary attack unless fighting bouncy or teleporting mobs (Chult dinos etc...)
- Forgemaster's Flame. Target DoT. Procs lifesteal and can't miss. Perfect for those times when Daunting won't work. Also great for allies if/when bug is fixed.
- Searing Light and Sunburst go here, but for specific reasons and only rarely.

Divine x3 and Emp DL (or chains) are obviously the heavy hitting combo. I like to soften up mobs with DG and Brand of the Sun (Bear Your Sins) before starting that if possible. Depending on your stats, doing x3 Divine may be overkill, the fight ends and you have no Divinity left.

I don't like Prophecy that much. It is ridiculously slow and still doesn't do what it says (instant cooldown) I use it in groups but that is it.

River District dailies I like to go all DPS Chains, DG, DL. Astral Shield isn't useful because of all the knocks and prones. Better to just dodge and wait for mobs to start an animation then attack.

Gyrion boss fight, ditch DL for FF. Nostura, I will use PoD, swapping out chains (she doesn't move) Kabal, I don't change my bar. He is a 1 trick boss and once you know it, a faceroll.

onodrain

Pitshade gave a great template. I would only add...what is your ArPen? I think the bone golems have higher resists. When I got my ArPen higher they were much easier.

Use potions to heal. I also use the health stones for a complete heal when needed. When you loadout DPS, you gotta heal like a DPS.

If your weapon is not an item level 435 or above, you may want to consider buying a Chult weapon for the RD grind. It will increase your damage significantly. More so than anything other than player skill. If you are grinding for the RD Fey Weapons, buy the Chult weapon, but do not put any Refining Points (RP) into it, as you lose RP when you feed one weapon into another.

Hallowed Ground is your friend. If you do not use it all the time, get used to using it all the time. It is a huge increase in your damage and survivability. For Nostura, I would start the fight with HG and every time I entered the "normal" realm and could attack her, I would pop HG. I would not use HG in her Fey realm. But this is my approach. You might find a better way.

And finally, if you have not figured this out yet...if you keep a pillar between you and Nostura, she cannot hurt you except with her AoE attacks, which you can easily dodge. She does end up destroying the pillars, but you can cast through a pillar and she cannot. Her stone gaze will still petrify you through the pillar, I believe. So look away when she does that.

**Edit** The other thing that could make life easier for you would be a frost enchant. This stuns the monsters for 4 seconds the first time you hit them. It gives you some breathing room as you get your iLevel increased.

mjonis

Thanks. I purchased (Tarmulane bars) the pilgrim armor. Have some Dusk armor as well. Still have EE weapons.

My Arpen was like 50%, but got back into my Guild so it's like 110% now (a bit over, but it's better, IMO).

I seem to be better now that I'm sporting divine Chains x3, and then either empowered chains/DL. Every now and then (there's a bug I tell you, where sometimes it leaves the "chains" marker even though you've cast it empowered and you can't use your at-wills or other encounters, until you hit ESC or something. VERY annoying).

Not to mention the bug with Chains where it doesn't bind anything and enemies just waltz right over it.

I'd just like some more info as to what procs what, which powers, etc. (I just look at total damage on the tool tip but apparently that cant' be trusted).

onodrain

Chains in normal mode takes a second to activate. Divinity Chains is immediate activation. When I am doing something like the Siege of Neverwinter HE (or Skirmishes), I drop a Normal Chains and Divinity Chains (can place up to 3) where I know the spawns will occur. This gets you more damage during the HE which equates to higher ranking when the HE ends. So you get more rewards. Otherwise, other DPS will be doing something similar and you end up with HAMSTER rewards.

Chains can be resisted. Essentially, the mobs can make their saving throw. I do not think it is worth trying to increase Control Strength through boons or equipment. As control is not our primary concern.

Any of your DoT's (BotS, BtS, PoD, etc) will activate Bear Your Sins (10% more damage from any source). People also report activating this with Plaguefire Enchants and I expect it would work with any enchant that has a DoT. If you activate it with BotS, you can also activate Power of the Sun (5% dam/crit debuff).

Healing Word is what I use when I am grouping as my main heal spell. It takes some getting used to, but it heals in a wide column in front of you. It provides a HoT on every ally in the cone and on you. The HoT can stack. It activates Gift of Haste (5% AP Gain), for you and your allies.

clericalist

For soloing keep it simple, don't try to manage both a single and AOE build, use the same build for all soloing, you already have enough to worry about managing all the different party types for the specific party.

For soloing I go for sunburst, daunting light and chains. I find mobs more dangerous than solo bosses, so I will try to use the best against the hardest hitting mobs.

The sunburst is there for the real nasty mobs (the glowing Batiris and to stop those annoying Yuan Ti crowd controls), for RD mobs it can at times be useful as a clutch, for mobs easier than this, chains and daunting light is sufficient to melt them in one rotation so one does not need a divine glow for them. The sunburst also provides useful self heals, its an all purpose survivability/dps encounter to have.

The daunting light is obviously the main dps and you want to use that as the main empowered.

The chains is useful to clear easy mobs the fastest, as well as fixing mobs down for daunting light.

For your at will you want to go for brand of the sun as it provides decent damage over time, especially if you find yourself shifting around a lot to avoid damage.

For the daily power I almost always use flame strike, this is for both the AOE and the rapid use it provides.

This setup works fine for almost any solo boss as well, perhaps one will want to use alternatives to the crocodile weekly boss and the one star hunt beasts (that spawn no mobs), but even for those I keep I keep it simple and stick to my routine.