Arcane Armor

Sweaty - Heavens Tear

What kind of shards are best to add to arcane armor for a int wizard?

hxiang

Sweaty - Heavens Tear wrote: »

What kind of shards are best to add to arcane armor for a int wizard?

Physical def, LOTs of physical def.

No physical def makes me feel like I can be one-shotted by a creep of equal level...

OriciAlyssa - Heavens Tear

There have been some info I've read that leads me to believe physical DEF shards are slightly better against physical attacks than HP shards, but I personally go with HP because DEF shards only work against physical attacks, but HP works against everything. If you are constantly in situations where you are getting hit (shouldn't happen in PvE unless you are zhening) then maybe DEF shards are a better option.

Ty - Heavens Tear

Personally I like to have both pdef and HP stones, plus i usually look for +pdef equipment.

The benefit from having more physical defence is a diminishing return, it gets harder to eek out an extra % less damage the closer you get to 100% damage reduction. Someone more mathematically minded may be able to give a sweet spot when its better to add HP stones over pdef stones.

Dauthus - Sanctuary

I use +20 citrines (hp) in all the sockets I can afford to have them in, plus equip that adds HP anyway. All in all I have 470 hp added due to equips and stones, and I still have several sockets to fill. I just don't have the money to afford it atm. lol

/haiku/ - Lost City

I go with pdef bonuses on my armor and hp shards, usually. The exception is when I'm switching from a piece of armor with better pdef bonuses to one with hp bonuses, where I tend to split gems to not lose pdef or hp. A thing which I didn't have to do much until 7x, because there's a serious shortage of decent level 7x+ gear.. too many people decomping for mirages I think. b:chuckle All in all I've kept my pdef at around 40%-50% reduction unbuffed (except stone barrier), which has worked well for me.

I only use average shards, so they're not too expensive and not too amazing, but my pdef is excellent for a robe.. while my hp is a bit less than a light armor (they are free to use all hp shards/bonuses), I'm still rarely a 1shot even for level 8x players. +HP on accessories based in pdef are recommended as well. When you get higher and start +ing gear, you'll be getting a fair bit more HP that way as well.

OriciAlyssa - Heavens Tear

If you do zhen (should be physical attack only) I'd definitely recommend going pdef stones. If you're a mage it's a decent investment since a significant portion of your xp will come from zhen. Then again that may mean more than 1 set of armor if you prefer something else which can get expensive if you like glowing armor haha.

/haiku/ - Lost City

OriciAlyssa - Heavens Tear wrote: »

If you do zhen (should be physical attack only) I'd definitely recommend going pdef stones. If you're a mage it's a decent investment since a significant portion of your xp will come from zhen. Then again that may mean more than 1 set of armor if you prefer something else which can get expensive if you like glowing armor haha.

I zhenned in my grinding gear with emphasis on +mag without a problem (meaning low pdef). ^^; The trick with robes and zhen is that you have shared tanking between the damage dealers so that you aren't taking all of the hits, or have someone a little higher who can take the hits dealing slightly more damage. The bubble adds a whole lot to your defense tbh.

I use my TW robes (hp/pdef emphasis) when I remember to, though. Rather not die if the zhen I'm in gets crashed, and there are many people in LC that wouldn't hesitate to do so. b:surrender