Dream Smith/Forge Solipsist on NM/RL - Advice?

[The Tapir]

So after the solipsist that I had been so hopeful for fell flat on its face at the tail end of the t2 dungeons, I decided to try out a new play style for the class that would utilize some of the trees I've largely seen overlooked in guides or advice on the forums - Dream Smith and Dream Forge. As much as the playstyle is fun, I've run into some major issues with my build:

Survivability: Solipsists have awful life modifiers, and this has been a major problem in my runs when it comes to dealing with rares that may or may not be visible on screen. At level 12, I had ~160 life which led to me being one-shotted by a unique skeleton mage rare out of LoS in Korpul. I've heard stacking +hp gear at the beginning helps to ease the transition into the early-mid game, though seem to have had no luck in finding any such gear on my past few runs. Furthermore, large amounts of damage chip away at my psi pool, which combines with the below problem.

Psi management: With such a small psi pool in the early levels, I often have found myself on the borderline of the solipsism debuff in the course of normal combat. Using both the thoughtform and forge shield sustains take quite a chunk out of my resource pool, and with such resource-intensive talents as the dream smith tree this often spells disaster for my character. Though it has not been the death of any so far, I can tell that it will be a major problem down the line when I'm more heavily invested into the actual Solipsism tree.

Early game: Melee solipsists are beyond awful in the first few levels, which means that if I don't find a mindblast torque/conjuration wand/tentacled totem or any NPCs to drown for levels my character will likely die to the first rare he sees. My routine has been to immediately check every possible town for any extra damage I could find, but failing that a single rare will take out my character before reaching the critical threshold of lvl 4 where the build's damage spikes. I've considered floating points in Mind Sear before I can afford Hammer Throw, but I'd like other suggestions for getting my character up and running.

Build paths: Beyond the dream smith and forge trees, I'm unsure of exactly where to take my character in terms of build. Initially distortion seemed reasonable for the boost to physical damage and reduction of physical resistances, but that kinda defeats the purpose of a melee solipsist given the amount of casting necessary to lower resistances a meaningful amount. I had considered investing more heavily into the Slumber tree to get benefits out of Sleep, Slumber, Dream Walk, and Dreamscape, though hadn't reached a point at which I could viably invest in both by the time each character died. Furthermore, given that Solipsists seem tight on generic points, I was stuck between choosing Antimagic and Fungus or going for 5/5 Thick Skin and Armor Training for survivability purposes. Finally, I was unsure of whether mindstar mastery and Psiblades would be worth getting, as the damage formula does not seem to apply to the dream hammer and the requisite generics to make it shine.

I'm open to any sort of advice regarding this build, so whatever comments you may have are appreciated. If possible, I'd like to get my first win with this character, so long-term is the real goal here - anything useful to know or take into account helps.

[Isotope-X]

I think floating a point or two into Mind Sear, or even keeping them permanently, is going to be critical. You're exactly correct, at that low level Solopsists die pretty much instantly, so take advantage of that range-10 beam to get you through the first few levels. Once you have Hammer Throw you get some range capability and things get better. Slightly, anyway...melee Solopsist is still a tough choice.

Are you using a Thought-Form? I think they're not as useful for a hammerer, because they tend to do a better job as a meat shield, but again using one early might help. If nothing else, it gives you a distraction.

Also, the only advantage for you in getting Psiblades would be to enhance the stat/Mindpower boni from your mindstars. That certainly wouldn't be helpful early because low-tier Mindstars just suck. On the other hand, Leaves Fall is WONDERFUL, especially if you're using Melee, not for the damage but for the Evasion.

[The Tapir]

I have been using the thoughtform as an early game meatshield, though this often turned sour once I neared level 10 as my hammer throw began to OHKO whichever thoughtform crossed its return path. I'm unsure of whether or not defender could take a hit, seeing as I never specced into it during my character's short life, but often I found myself killing the thoughtform more often than my enemies did.

In terms of Mind Sear, I did have the chance to pick up a point in it from a lucky loremaster escort, though by the time I got it the dream hammer had been sufficiently upgraded to make the 1 point essentially meaningless. I get that it's probably something to drop a point in early to help the first few levels, but ultimately will likely not be the main focus of the build.

Also, regarding mindstar mastery - I've heard great things about leaves tide, but have never had the generic points to spend on it nor the money to fully unlock the category. I'm playing Cornac, so the extra cat point might help in that regard, but if I'm going for Fungus and Antimagic it might be too much of a generic point sink.


EDIT: Status update - have reached lvl 17 and am working on the t2 dungeons. Thanks to Track from betraying an escort (can't remember which), keeping track of what enemies are where is very easy and helps to keep my melee-range char out of trouble. As for the actual skills of the build itself, will end up 5/5-ing all of the Dream Smith skills and likely the Dream Forge as well, which means investment into Solipsism and Antimagic will be delayed. Very few enemies, whether common or rare, can stand up to the hammer throw-dream crusher-dream smith hammer-hammer throw combo, with most dying in the first two skills. The build is very powerful, and I expect that adding Fungus into the mix will aid greatly in keeping Psi and Health up.

So far, thanks to not dying a stupid death at the hands of some out-of-sight rare, the character has a lot of potential. I have damage reduction out the roof with Forge Shield active, and can largely ignore DoTs of its element while it's active. Only time will tell with how it stands up to Dreadfell and the Far East.

EDIT #2: I really shouldn't say anything. Died to a huge damage spike from a boulder thrower and a fire drake in Daikara.

[jenx]

my advice? u are going to have a world of pain, and very little chance of success.

dream hammer and dream forge and just not strong enough.

a sleep focussed solipsist though is a breeze on nightmare

[The Tapir]

Sleep focused as in using Dreamscape? Or do you mean the sunder mind + sleep + inner demons combo?

[jenx]

Sleep focused as in using Dreamscape? Or do you mean the sunder mind + sleep + inner demons combo?

all of the above, plus you need thought forms, feedback, and the tree that shoots bolts when you stand still. look in the vault, i've won quite a few times with these.

[Atarlost]

If Forge Shield and Thoughtform are giving you psi problems try not using them. The worst that can happen is that you lose the next character even earlier.