Demon/Sage Archer decision based on certain conditions

Janalae - Sanctuary
Janalae - Sanctuary Posts: 26 Arc User
edited June 2010 in Archer
i have tough times to make this decision and could use some opinions to make the best decisions that fits my playstyle. i will list a few conditions and compare the skills.


conditions:


1. PVE ONLY (never want to bother again with pvp)
2. i love crit and dex, my gear will be focused on that (already have 30%)
3. lazyness (i don't want to spam all time at a boss skills to get the benefits from skills like demon quickshot. i had to spam skills already on my barb for a long time and enjoy it to be able to lean back abit when playing the archer)
4. i went archer for using ranged weapons and not fist a boss to death no matter if its less efficient to use a bow.


Skills (descriptions, questions, thoughts):


-tripple Spark:
demon: 25% faster attack rate (does it stack with quickshot?)
sage: 25% reduced damage taken (not very usefull. don't want to tank. have a barb for that which i given up for the moment)


so far i could read in the most posts, people go demon archer mostly for the reason of the spark, quickshot and crit increase of certain skills. since intervall and dd'ing with fists came into fashion its mostly because you can constantly spark at full speed of 5 attacks per second.
when i understood the whole story right you need -0,5 intervall to achieve this without demon spark. anyone could tell me what gear would be needed for the case i would go sage and for some reason i would change my mind about fists? or how big is the difference between high intervall+fist <=> high dex/crit+bow user

-chi skill:
demon: takes chi from opponents (pvp only, of no use for me)
sage: gives chi (always nice)
=>sage prefered


-take aim:
demon: shorter channeling
sage: more damage
both kinda the same. more damage on hit or less damage but in shorter time what is in a meaning of dps the same direction. besides that take aim is not much used.
=>neutral


-Blazing Arrow:
demon: additional 70% Fire damage for 20 seconds after casting (seems useless for me)
sage: 60% of weapon damage (10% more then demon)
=>sage prefered


-Frost Arrow:
demon: chance to gain chi (compared to sage chi skill pointless)
sage: converts physical damage into water damage (pointless when you don't pvp)
both useless to me
=>neutral


-Vicious Arrow
demon: duration reduced to 12 seconds (more dps for the dot)
sage: burns enemies mana each dot tick (again pvp, useless to me)
since i barely use the dot's
=>neutral


-Serrated Arrow
demon: steals 40 HP from the target every time it bleeds, for a total of 5 times (a trade of 180 mana for 200 hp. sounds nice but doubt its a big deal)
sage: reduces the bleeding duration to 12 seconds (more dps)
same as vicous arrow, since i barely use the dot's (and i don't care for if the bleed goes through shields like plume shell since i don't pvp either)
=>neutral


-Sharpened Tooth Arrow:
demon: 10% increase to critical hit for 15 seconds (one of the reasons why demon can out dd sage. but i would have to spam it all the time what can get anoying)
sage: reduces maximum HP by 20% (4% more then demon)


perhaps the best pve skill at bosses. what does more damage in total, the 10% more crit every time the skill is used or the 4% with one shot at the start of a boss fight. ofcourse sage st is obsolete in the moment you have a sage veno with sage soul degen in squad.
both nice but not to have to spam skills is one of my conditions.
=>sage prefered


-Lightning Strike:
demon: extends cooldown by 2 seconds, but will never miss (more usefull in pvp)
sage: chance to gain chi (as sage you already don't have much chi problems)
both no big advantage for me but since demon is completely useless for me
=>sage prefered


-Thunder Shock:
demon: 10% chance to paralyze enemy for 10 seconds
sage: increases Metal resistance reduction to 25 seconds
not much to say about this
=>sage prefered


-Thunderous Blast
demon: extra 800 damage
sage: reduces channeling time to 2 seconds and cooldown to 7 seconds
more damage at hit or spamed faster
=>neutral


-Stormrage Eagleon
demon: only lasts 15 seconds, but slows the enemy by 50% (means more damage each dot tick?)
sage: reduces target's physical and magic defense by 20%
when i read right here in the forum the sage skill description is not correct and reduces attack or attack rate of the enemy? either way. this skill is of no interest to me.
=>neutral


-Quickshot
demon: 50% chance to increase attack rate by 30% for 6 seconds (this skill is too, one of the reasons why people go demon. faster attack rate means more dps, more damage in total. but needs to be spamed aaaaaall the time. really worth that anoying skill spam?
sage: chance to gain chi (boooh)
=>demon prefered


-Knockback Arrow
demon: chance to gain chi (booh)
sage: reduces cooldown to 10 seconds (yay)
=>sage prefered


-Aim Low
demon: chance to stun
sage: chance to seal
both are just a + chance to keep the enemy on a spot when the 90% chance from the basic skill fails?
=>neutral


-Stunning Arrow
demon: increases critical hit rate by 10% for 10 seconds (very nice, almost same as demon st, doubt both skills stack)
sage: increases stun duration to 4.5 seconds
both nice, but when you want as demon a crit increase you perhaps use st instead? at mobs longer stun is more usefull in my opinion when you have already 40%+ crit what i should get with 99+ gear.
=>sage prefered


-Deadly Shot
demon: increases damage by 500 and reduces cooldown to 10 seconds (more damage, can be spamed faster)
sage: full damage regardless of distance to target (booh)
=>demon prefered


-Barrage of Arrows
demon: reduces the interval between attacks by 0.5 seconds (more damage)
sage: reduces damage taken during casting by 33% (more surviveability)
in my opinion in pve you get agro already too quick with barrage and get hit way too much then wanted. where is the point of more damage when you often enough don't survive it.
=>sage prefered


-Winged Shell
demon: increases maximum duration to 30 seconds and maximum absorb times to 10 (lasts longer, more mana gain)
sage: absorbs up to a total of 1250 damage (absorbs more damage)
the mana you get isn't the big deal, longer lasting no big deal too.
=>sage prefered


-Winged Pledge
demon: 25% chance to reduce enemy speed by 50% for 5 seconds (usefull for kiting)
sage: reduces cooldown to 1 second (cooldown is already short on lvl 10 or demon)
=>neutral


-Wingspan
demon: casts a Level 5 Winged Shell on yourself upon a successful hit (nice but lvl 5 shield absorbs only 435 damage)
sage: 20% chance to gain an additional 100 Chi (mhh compared to other "chance to gain chi" skills 1 spark is not too bad)
both skills nice
=>neutral


-Wings of Protection
demon: increases evasion by 50% and speed by 20% (more evasion, more speed)
sage: increases evasion duration to 1 hour and speed increase duration
to 15 minutes (for the lazy people, no need to rebuff so often. but no big advantage)
=>demon prefered


-Winged Blessing:
demon: Demon version increases accuracy by 10% on ranged targets.
Demon version increases critical hit rate by 1% on ranged targets. (i don't really get this description. does it mean it has only effect on "ranged type" targets like other archers or mobs like stygean who do ranged physical damage? or does it mean everything that i shoot from a far enough distance?)
sage: gives a 14 meter range increase (2 more meters then demon. can help)
=>preference depends on what demon really does lol


-Bow Mastery:
demon: increases ranged weapon critical hit rate by 1% (question: skill description correct and it does not apply to fists or other used weapon types?)
sage: 90% increase to ranged weapon attack (15% more then demon)

even when i focus on getting a high base crit or high crit with gear, i would rather take the more average damage then this 1 crit when i assume that i can get over 40% crit without skills
=>sage prefered





what speaks for demon is only the spark attack speed increase, quick shot attack increase, st/stunning crit % increase.
when you use all of those constantly i have no doubt that you out dd sage archers.
but you need to use them really all the time or the demon choice was pointless and you fail in your class and your choice.


since i think the attack speed of spark and quick shot does not stack leads me to the assumption that demon spark is mostly nowdays of most use when dd'ing with fists.
but you still could get the max attack speed of 5 attacks per second with the right gear.
basically a trade off.
max attack speed at cheaper costs as demon. or same effect as sage at higher gear costs.
when you think in the long run from the fist dd point of view=> y u go demon?
(i think here more in the way what CAN be achieved in the future and not what can i achieve right now with my funding. most fun of those games is to work towards a goal.)


when looking at my skill comparision based on my opinion how i look at them i would have more benefit and fun with the sage skills.
but the purpose of an archer is dd. what probably can be optimized with the few named demon skills.


but then again the main purpose of this game is to have fun. when its no fun to me to spam every few seconds to have my damage benefit from demon? then i most likely do something wrong.
but then again its an archer. a dd class. when i see all the time demon archers who out dd me? would i loose my fun playing the class too?
how big is the real difference in damage?


one thing i have to add. when people say "demon archers pull more agro and that means they do more damage" is not valid in my opinion. it just means they generated higher damage spikes in shorter time in the agro calculation. (but then again only theories lol).
you can have done more damage constantly over time but not stealing agro then someone who just went all out and spiked over the agro of the tank in a few seconds.



eeeeeehm ok.
already too much written. as you can see i could use some opinions.
please stay with facts and don't use this thread to spam things like "demon OoOoOWns"
Post edited by Janalae - Sanctuary on

Comments

  • Admante - Dreamweaver
    Admante - Dreamweaver Posts: 323 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    Of course sage wins if you take out all the best demon skills -.-

    Winged Shell: biggest bonus is the fact that the first hit on it, no matter how big, will be reduced by 80%. The actual amount of damage absorption isn't so important. If you took aggro on a big boss, extra 250 absorption still means shield is going to pop. Makes demon wingspan better too.

    Barrage: damage reduction good, yes, but you'll be using barrage most in RB if you're not going to pvp. Rebirth = Cleric uses BB = your barrage reduction cancelling the 50% reduction of BB = BAD.

    Winged blessing: I'm not absolutely sure but I think the description means you get the bonus with a ranged weapon.
  • Brigid - Harshlands
    Brigid - Harshlands Posts: 1,332 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    Something I'd like to point out regarding Blazing Arrow and Bow Mastery:
    1% crit directly translates to 1% more damage.
    10% weapon damage is 10% of your weapon's damage only, not your base damage. At endgame, weapon damage is perhaps 1/5 of your total damage, at best.

    Even with a Jaden Emperor's Defiance +12 (G15 Nirvana) that's still only 2-300 more raw base damage.

    Thus, Sage Blazing Arrow is better than Demon, but it's not a particularly dramatic difference. The difference between Sage and Demon Bow Mastery is even more insignificant, at 3-400 raw base damage versus 1% crit.

    Lightning Strike: Never missing is actually more useful than it sounds, especially against other archers and assassins. The 2 second cooldown increase isn't really noticeable, as you'll rarely have the opportunity to simply zap a target repeatedly.

    Regarding spark and quickshot: No, they don't stack. However, a few things that you should keep in mind regarding attack speed increases:

    First off, a "30% increase" in attack speed is actually a 30% decrease in attack interval, due to the way the game mechanics work. That's around a 43% actual attack rate increase. Similarly, Demon Spark is actually around a 33% attack rate increase. Rounding off of attack intervals also comes into play at higher attack rates, generally to your favor.

    Second, an attack rate increase is also a chi gain increase. Thus, each time Demon Quickshot activates successfully, it also means your next Demon Spark comes that much more quickly.
  • Egaenil - Heavens Tear
    Egaenil - Heavens Tear Posts: 853 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    So let me get this right 1st, you DONT want to use THE BEST skill for demon.. yet you listed ALL OTHER skills to prove sage is better? Plus, I mean who still use bow only for pve, If you want to pve, go demon, simple as that, fist and spark thats all you need, problem solve. At your lvl, lvl 90, ONLY way to get to 5.0 is with demon spark.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]"wink wink"
  • Asterelle - Sanctuary_1381265973
    Asterelle - Sanctuary_1381265973 Posts: 7,881 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    With the lousy way archer skills are designed, you end up getting more and more off your damage from normal shots than by using skills (especially after stacking interval gear). Normal shots benefit more from demon's crit and attack speed boosts than from sages mastery and blazing arrow.

    Since you are looking at 99 skills you might as well add in the 100 ones. Both address things considered weaknesses of the demon path. One is a chi gain skill which gives 399 chi, the other is an hp debuff which replaces tooth for use on bosses.

    I kind of think sages have alot of chi but nothing good to use it on since demons get the better spark and the better barrage. In pve I use the vast majority off my chi on spark, barrage, and aim low. With awaken and a chi skill on the genie demons can get chi pretty easily and can demon spark 4 or 5 times in a row with a bow.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Refining Simulator - aster.ohmydays.net/pw/refiningsimulator.html (don't use IE)
    Genie Calculator - aster.ohmydays.net/pw/geniecalculator.html - (don't use IE)
    Socket Calculator - aster.ohmydays.net/pw/socketcalculator.html
  • Meanpie - Lost City
    Meanpie - Lost City Posts: 48 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    You mentioned that you don't want to spam skills...Well the Crit increase from Stunning Arrow lasts 10 sec and the Crit increase form Sharptooth lasts 15 sec. I wouldn't exactly call using a single still every 10-15 sec skill spaming. I'm also pretty sure that the with the 12% increase in crit a demon archer will out dd a sage archer even without spamming quickshot.
  • Elviron - Dreamweaver
    Elviron - Dreamweaver Posts: 812 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    Well if you dont like spamming skills....I dont see why youre choosing sage since to get all that chi/sparks you need to spam ur sage skills to begin with.

    The only skills you actually tend to spam with demon is quickshot (at 89+) and stunning arrow (92+).
  • Legerity - Sanctuary
    Legerity - Sanctuary Posts: 1,072 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    To me the valuable demon skills for PvE are:

    Quickshot - in dungeons things just die when it procs and is especially true following a stun arrow.

    Winged Shell - you have an anti 1 hit skill for 30seconds... It's basically half a second cooldown due to casting time. I prefer to be covered at all times to fend off 1 shots from bosses, most noticeably AE in TT2-3. Also, the mp regeneration is a lot. It pays for itself and pays for the usage of a few QS without really the hassle of consuming MP pots. I guess this is negligible if you don't care about coin and MP pots.

    Wingspan - this allows you to effectively kite a lot of bosses if you have a charm on aswell. I was able to keep aggro on Eth. Abominations when the cleric fell at 5k hp, cleric buffed only and lagging. The use of WoG, Shell, Wingspan and charm meant I was never even close to dying even with horrendous latency.

    Stun Arrow - stun is naturally already used in mob encounters to cancel casts or prevent mob aggro reset outside dungeons. It's nice to already have a built in 10% critical bonus after you fire a stun.

    Barrage - one of the most useful skills to spend your chi on. Like Asterelle mentioned, most of your chi is really spent on this, spark, aim low or shell as a demon. The shorter interval bonus makes this skill very good for your AoEing purposes and it makes RB Delta that much easier.

    Blazing Arrows - not that important but if you want more of a spike damage, consider casting this before a Stun for an additional 70% weapon damage (so +120% WD for 20seconds) following a 10% additional crit.

    Demon Spark - self explanatory... Iff you go fists and can get base 5aps I prefer the sage spark over demon spark. On a bow though, I'd say demon spark is the more preferable one.
  • Egaenil - Heavens Tear
    Egaenil - Heavens Tear Posts: 853 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    as for y u should go for fist, i can only speak from my personal experience from nien. I was jsut using bow for the 1st few times, i know my weapon isnt that great, heaven shatter +10 2 socketd. I only manage to get 7-8k points. But now i switched to fist, and it is really cheap fist ff+6 fist, but since i can get 5.0 with demon spark, i get about 17k points for nien. so the difference is there plain to see

    and i find it is kinda funny how all the ppl out there just say "oh well u know by lvl 99 i will get 40% cri with no problem/EASILY" I really want to see u guys try, i honestly do. It's almost like saying "you know i will get raw attack speed with bow to 0.91 easily or 1.0 easily"
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]"wink wink"
  • Janalae - Sanctuary
    Janalae - Sanctuary Posts: 26 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    thank you very much for the constructive posts.


    @Admante:
    winged shell: mhh any idea where i can read up on winged shell 80% reduction of first hit? sounds like it works same as a def charm. never noticed that. i will test that.

    barrage: some reduced damage mods don't overwrite bb, some do, some are spereated and stack i think. what comes here into my mind is for example invoke and the shield of chi mod of the frost tank axe. would like to hear that from a sage archer with sage barrage. or is it written here in the forum?


    @Brigid:
    yes i agree on the most. like i wrote. with all the skills used demon out dd's sage for sure.
    my fear was to spam skills all the time what interferes with my lazyness b:chuckle
    more about that abit below. the faster chi gain with faster attack rate is a good point.

    Lightning Strike: i won't pvp, i don't even like duels much. b:surrender

    Regarding spark and quickshot: ty for the confirmation


    @Asterelle:
    good that you reminded me of the lvl 100 skills. very true. blood vow with the 18% decrease gets pretty close to sage st and the crit increase by demon st should make it more then even.
    awaken decreases the chi downpart of demons, combined with genie chi skills no problem anymore.
    *eliminates sage chi skill and sharpentooth from controversial list*

    @Meanpie and Elviron:
    i found a solution for the spam skill issue.....loop macro lol
    played too long my barb(not the best class for macro usage) and not really needed macros so far on my archer.
    soooo....yeah....loop macro turned on....watch my toon spam the skills=>still lazy mode
    that makes my decision now alot easier.


    @Legerity:
    winged shell: mh true. to be constantly protected by it is perhaps better. especially when its true that the first hit at you works same like def charms with an 80% damage reduction.
    more then nice for random agro bosses.


    wingspan: again if first hit is decreased by 80% then it has alot higher value then the skill description makes you believe.


    stunning arrow: mhh mhh mhh i still like both versions, sage and demon. but yes quickshot, spark, stunning, st with all the damage increases together....mh mh mh mh


    barrage: depends on if its true that the 25% damage reduction overwrites the 50% reduction by bb.


    blazing arrow: probably nice for rebirth with full attack aura for the own dd ego b:laugh can be fun. i see sage blazing and bow mastery more as a whole, like the attack speed and crit increase of demon.


    Demon Spark - "self explanatory" agreed on that.


    @Egaenil: your experience on the nien beast with fists were the only constructive words so far from you. ty for that.
    for the rest...read the last words of my first post again.
    for the crit, like i wrote. i have already 30%.
    still a few in vit from noob mistakes from the first lvls i still can restat.
    now add the stats from the next 11 lvls to 100, full 99 set, helm, maybe crit cape. 3% rings.
    what you think at what % crit i will end up.
  • LauraAngel - Lost City
    LauraAngel - Lost City Posts: 15 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    You goal should not be critical rate.


    It should be interval reduction.


    As a demon archer, you'll get enough of it from Sharpened Tooth or Stunning Arrow.
  • Legerity - Sanctuary
    Legerity - Sanctuary Posts: 1,072 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    thank you very much for the constructive posts.


    @Admante:
    winged shell: mhh any idea where i can read up on winged shell 80% reduction of first hit? sounds like it works same as a def charm. never noticed that. i will test that.

    ...

    http://pwi-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=622411
    ...

    barrage: some reduced damage mods don't overwrite bb, some do, some are spereated and stack i think. what comes here into my mind is for example invoke and the shield of chi mod of the frost tank axe. would like to hear that from a sage archer with sage barrage. or is it written here in the forum?

    ...

    Confirmed long ago from various archers who have been playing since beta and PW:MY. I believe the reduction icon is the same as BB's icon and icons generally do not stack (with one exception).

    I suggest you have a dig through this post for more goodies.
    http://pwi-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=389962
  • Egaenil - Heavens Tear
    Egaenil - Heavens Tear Posts: 853 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    LOL going all out for cri, clearly a noob build, -interv is way better in both pvp and pve, please show me your build so it says I GOT 40% BY lvl 99

    http://pwcalc.ru/pwi/?char=dc6c98ef314e87b9

    this is wat i have now well I dont have that high refine but anyway at time of writing, you can no longer get event boots, I am demon i got 2 extra cri % and I got 41% cri, without those for sage archer, you will have 39%, and I restated so vit/magic are 3. Please show me how you can EASILY get 40%+ cri at lvl 99.

    Lets see the mistake you made, blazing arrow doesnt stack with barrage, sage barrage def doesnt stack with BB, quick shot will over write demon spark speed buff if proc. Comparing metal attack damage is just stupid, sure it might give you 50% extra damage over normal attack but it's for wood mob ONLY, but takes about 2 secs to channel and cast, if just normal hit you can hit twice, end result is you actually deal 50% more damage. As for spaming demon quick shot is pain, you can just set macro for it, not that hard at all.

    What you said so far is based on "i think", not wat actually might happen
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]"wink wink"
  • Fyren - Heavens Tear
    Fyren - Heavens Tear Posts: 72 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    after reading some of your "choices" does it matter demon or sage in terms of skills? No... so choose the one that gives a fairy that goes best with ur fashion.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • Egaenil - Heavens Tear
    Egaenil - Heavens Tear Posts: 853 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    b:chuckle you need a new sig fyren

    thats all XD b:laugh
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]"wink wink"
  • Olba - Sanctuary
    Olba - Sanctuary Posts: 1,776 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    It's funny how people always seem to think that Demon Blazing Arrow somehow only lasts for 20 seconds. It doesn't. What it does is you get 2 icons, one for 20 seconds, one of 10 minutes. The first one is +70% Fire Damage, the second is +50% Fire Damage. What this means is that for the first 20 seconds, you got +120% Fire damage and for the remaining 580, you get +50%. This means that the average increase is 52.3%.

    I also find it ridiculous that you start by saying that you don't like using skills and then you go on to compare the two builds by their skills. That's quite contradictory.

    Also, the actual increased damage from Sage Bow Mastery is pretty much pathetic. Even if it looks like +15%, you won't actually be seeing such a number. This is because your actual damage depends mostly on your dexterity. The actual increase in damage will be about 3%.
    If you disregard what I say because of who I am or because of the contents of what I said, you are a fool.

    Everyone wants to be different, but when you're different you wish you were normal.
  • Janalae - Sanctuary
    Janalae - Sanctuary Posts: 26 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    olba i compared the differences of the demon and sage skills.
    ofcourse does demon blazing the 10 minute buff. the additional 70% for 20 seconds are just the special.
    and i didn't say i don't like using skills. i don't like spamming skills like every 6 seconds quickshot what is i little difference. but that problem is solved.
    about sage bow mastery, brigid was faster on that.
    little hint (my former main is a 101 barb with sage axe mastery. i am aware of the impact of such a skill)


    what ever. i made my choice.
    thanks to those helping me out.
  • Asterelle - Sanctuary_1381265973
    Asterelle - Sanctuary_1381265973 Posts: 7,881 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    The second buff from demon blazing actually lasts for 15 minutes. Also blazing does increase damage for barrage and all other skills but winged pledge.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Refining Simulator - aster.ohmydays.net/pw/refiningsimulator.html (don't use IE)
    Genie Calculator - aster.ohmydays.net/pw/geniecalculator.html - (don't use IE)
    Socket Calculator - aster.ohmydays.net/pw/socketcalculator.html
  • Illyana - Dreamweaver
    Illyana - Dreamweaver Posts: 348 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    Here is where PWI Archers will QQ, because Illy is in the thread posting about the virtue of Sage Archers.

    To answer some of your questions, it is important to know how far in the game you plan on taking your toon, and after that, how much effort do you put in to building your gear.

    Since you already specified that your focus is on PvE only, sage will generally be more beneficial. Yes, you can set up various macros to get around the senseless button mashing, but most people who are exceptionally good at the class don't use them, unless they're a permaspark (4-5 APS) fist/claw user.

    Here is my opinion on what decision is better based on your PvE criteria:

    Level 89-91 Sage is better - this has better passives, as well as sage frost arrow.

    Levels 92-98 Demon is better, assuming you get some macros you like and are fortunate enough to come across demon quickshot.

    Level 95-99 fist claw build: Demon is better. It is easier to obtain permaspark with fists as a demon.

    Level 99 - Sage is better; STA tips the scales a bit

    Level 100 "End Game" PvE, demon is better because chi and STA of sage builds are decreased by the prevalence of 100 skills. It is important to note that most level 100 archers I've seen do not have both of these skills, or any of them since they're expensive to acquire.

    Level 100 "End Game" PvE Claw/Fist build: Sage is significantly better; you do not cast skills between attacks with fists, so its pretty much spark, tank and spank. It is difficult and expensive to reach 5 attacks a second as a sage, but when you are able to do it, you have a permanent 25% reduction that cannot be reached by means of equipment alone on the demon side. The trend of sage being better in this camp is supported by newer end-game gear Nirvana side with interval legs and interval arms. This, coupled with the added damage that sage blazing arrow gives more DPH, makes sage the superior choice for end-game claw fist PvE.

    Of course, PvP is a whole different issue and use entirely different criteria. I've spent a lot of time on my character (and some real game "coin", too) but this is what a high end sage archer looks like in TW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKwNRVmdt3o
    5.0 "Pure" 8jun Sage Clawrcher of Dreamweaver
  • Sanctam - Dreamweaver
    Sanctam - Dreamweaver Posts: 328 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    If you have the coin at 100 to get 5.0 as a sage, I would simply go demon until 100, and then use the new celestial schism mold. Seems like you would get the best of both worlds.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • Illyana - Dreamweaver
    Illyana - Dreamweaver Posts: 348 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    If you have the coin at 100 to get 5.0 as a sage, I would simply go demon until 100, and then use the new celestial schism mold. Seems like you would get the best of both worlds.

    I wouldn't (and didn't). You would have invested so much coin and spirit to get to 100 as demon (not to mention losing Demon QS), that going Sage wouldn't be economically feasible at that point. You'd have to be a real clown to switch that late in the game. b:chuckle
    5.0 "Pure" 8jun Sage Clawrcher of Dreamweaver
  • Admante - Dreamweaver
    Admante - Dreamweaver Posts: 323 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    I wouldn't (and didn't). You would have invested so much coin and spirit to get to 100 as demon (not to mention losing Demon QS), that going Sage wouldn't be economically feasible at that point. You'd have to be a real clown to switch that late in the game. b:chuckle

    I'd never let my demon quickshot go b:cry
  • Shadowvzs - Lost City
    Shadowvzs - Lost City Posts: 877 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    With the lousy way archer skills are designed, you end up getting more and more off your damage from normal shots than by using skills (especially after stacking interval gear). Normal shots benefit more from demon's crit and attack speed boosts than from sages mastery and blazing arrow.

    Since you are looking at 99 skills you might as well add in the 100 ones. Both address things considered weaknesses of the demon path. One is a chi gain skill which gives 399 chi, the other is an hp debuff which replaces tooth for use on bosses.

    I kind of think sages have alot of chi but nothing good to use it on since demons get the better spark and the better barrage. In pve I use the vast majority off my chi on spark, barrage, and aim low. With awaken and a chi skill on the genie demons can get chi pretty easily and can demon spark 4 or 5 times in a row with a bow.

    sage 25%absrb worth with interval gear and lv100 skills expensive+not spamable. i love the chi gainer in gv and i use warsong genie skill with 30% attack speed when i want shoot wast in tw thats all :).


    (woohoo lv100 spark skill great just wait 15 min for cooldown XD)