Short staff Sun Paladin guide 1.3.1

[Majestix]

A short staff Sun Paladin can be an incredible tank, and can make good use of several very nice synergies. It can clear Insane difficulty, and it's great fun! The combination of offense and defense in almost every one of your build-defining talents is quite unique. This is a rough guide, explaining the main strategic priorities of the build.

Races: the top contenders for this build are Shalore and Ogre. Shalore will work very well because this build relies on crits. And of course they have Timeless. The main draws of the Ogre are: an extra inscription slot, efficient use of inscriptions (which makes good use of the high crit rate that we are aiming for) and much more HP than with a Shalore. Another important point: there are certain enemies (such as radiant horrors, or randbosses with certain combinations of psionic shields) that can present huge problems to you. Being able to equip a two handed weapon with different elemental damage and a shield just for those few enemies made the difference between winning and losing on my Insane run.

Stat points: this is where you have to make your first tough decisions. If you find your first short staff early, then magic has to be maxed immediately, and the remaining points initially go to strength. If you are forced to go with other one-handed weapons at the beginning, then you might consider raising magic and strength roughly equally. Once magic is maxed, we need to work on our crit rate, but we also like accuracy a lot (because of the accuracy bonus on our staff). So I think you should raise cunning initially, but when you can max Precise Strikes, let dexterity catch up (see below). At the end, this would result in magic and strength maxed, and cunning and dexterity both in their 40s (not counting items of course). Precise Strikes will be giving you about 18-21% crit chance in the end.

Category Points: I believe that the first category point should go to Celestial/Guardian. This whole category is crazy good. Some people claim that it's hard to survive the early game without Rush, but I had no such problems on Insane. Path of the Sun helps a lot, and if you find that that's not enough, get a movement infusion (see below). The second category point unlocks Combat Technique. No other category is particularly important, so the remaining points should go to inscriptions, especially if you are an Ogre, who makes even better use of them than anyone else.

Build Priorities and general strategy: Even with the staff Paladin, most of the damage is still coming from the Shield Offense tree. Riposte is worth getting to 4 points early, the rest can stay at 1 point for most of the game. At the end you will have some points to spare, which you can divide between the other three talents as you see fit.

Put a few points into Path of the Sun early, because this is your main mobility talent until level 20, and you are a melee character.

Second Life is your life insurance, and you want to max it as soon as possible. BUT: your goal is for Second Life to not trigger (when it does, you need to run).

The following combination makes you a tank, and hopefully makes Second Life superflulous (again: keep SL on at all times; when it comes off, be it due to triggering, or due to some kind of magic dispersion, RUN!). Shield of Light is an amazing talent. It heals you not once per turn, but each time you take damage! This means that towards the end of the game, you will be receiving several hundred HP of healing every turn, without having to do anything about it! The bonus shield attack is the icing on the cake, what with your proc bonus from the staff.

This brings is to the next link in the survival chain: to make optimal use of Shield of Light, you need to always have spare positive energy. In protracted fights (of which there won't be many, but it's those that will decide whether you emerge victorious), how do we generate positive energy without wasting turns? Answer: Sun's Vengeance. This is a point that every discussion that I have seen about this talent has missed. The point of Sun's Vengeance is not the few hundred HP of damage that you occasionally get to deal for free (which is certainly nice), the point is that at regular intervals, which will get very short when your crit rate nears 100%, you get to regenerate 16 positive energy without using a turn. This is of critical (no pun) importance to the effectiveness of the Shield of Light talent.

The third tool in our survival arsenal is Weapon of Light, specifically its ability to prolong damage shields. Before a tough fight, you build up your shield with Bathe In Light (which you should max eventually), while behind a corner, then you come around the corner and use Rush or Path of the Sun to walk up to your enemy. Ordinarily, your shield would only be good for two more turns, but with Weapon of Light it will stay on for a long time.

Finally, the most divine ability of Sun Paladins: Retribution. Max that as soon as possible, never forget to switch it on as soon as it comes off cooldown after triggering. Always rest between fights, even if all your resources are full and nothing is on cooldown (in which case you will rest for 0 turns), so as to reset the absorbed damage on Retribution. This talent will clear rooms for you just at the moments when things start getting ever so slightly dicey. And you don't have to do anything for that, other than stand around and get hit.

This pretty much covers all angles from the damage survival point of view. The other important aspect of survival is dealing with status effects. This is achieved through a combination of:
- a physical wild infusion,
- a mental or mental/physical or even a mental/magical wild,
- the Writ Large racial talent,
- the Providence talent,
- and the Crusade talent.
Crusade is awesome: it has a short cooldown, and it is again one of those talents that kill things while working as defense. I absolutely love this talent. You only have to put one point in it for it to fulfil its main function, status removal, but I used it so often that the extra damage was worth 4 points to me. Don't be afraid to use it immediately as soon as you are hit by a status effect, even if it is poison for 1 HP per turn. Firstly, this talent will be available again soon, secondly if the following turn you are stunned, your wild infusion will do its job properly, instead of removing an inconsequential poison effect. And don't wait for the stun to occur before using Crusade, because that might put Crusade on cooldown. As for Providence, even though it requires some planning on your part, I think it is a fantastic status removal tool. There are two ways of using it: either you already know your enemy well enough to know that you will have to deal with status effects, in which case pop it on just before the fight begins; but there is a less far sighted and still very effective use of it: use your wild infusions to clear you of the most annoying status effects, then switch on Providence in the middle of the fight. If you continue using Crusade whenever possible, you can pretty much forget about status effects for 7 turns. With a judicious use of Writ Large, your infusions will have come off cooldown by that point.

Miscellaneous points: I set my short staff to light damage. Once you unlock the fortress, you can play around on the training dummy, to see what gives you better damage output, because it will depend on your shield and on your item egos. Of course you have to change this (typically to physical) if you meet somebody annoying, such as a luminous or radiant horror. (You will also have to switch off most of your sustains for those buggers.)

Weapon of Wrath, in conjunction with Wave of Power, gives you a nice way of dealing with ranged enemies: as soon as you hit them with Wave of Power, they get the martyrdom effect. Given your healing powers with Shield of Light, they will often kill themselves by attacking you, while leaving you at close to full health, without you ever getting close to them.

Chants: take your pick. I like the first chant. Even on Insane difficulty, the saves, which on my char were all around 90 in the end game, helped a lot.

Combat techniques: You don't have to switch on Precise Strikes as soon as you get it. Initially, the small increase in crit rate might not justify the speed penalty. But once you have three points in it, you should definitely be pumping dexterity, and keeping PS sustained. Regarding Rush, it is up to you how many points you put into this. 2 was enought for my liking, but you might prefer 3 or 4. The reduced cooldown is less decisive here than the range. Blinding Speed is a great talent to have in tough fights, and I actually maxed it. I also had this talent on an item, and I was using both of them, since the cooldown is quite long.

Ogre Racials: I would max Grisly Constitution even if you don't use a two-handed weapon. Firstly, there might be situations when you have to use one (e.g. against radiant and some luminous horrors); and secondly, the boost to your inscriptions is great, especially since you will have so many of them. Scar Scripted Flesh on the other hand only need 2-3 points to be useful, in my opinion. The probabilities don't scale too well here.

Ego priorities: this one is important. You want to stack, in that order of priority, spell crit chance, physical crit chance, crit multiplier, immunities against stun/freeze, silence, and confusion, and only then damage modifiers for light and physical. So what's the deal with crit multiplier? Its power is well illustrated by looking at the Bathe in Light talent. Its description, for me, was saying at the end of the game that it would shield me for 88 HP per turn for 7 turns. That should give me a shield of just over 600HP. In practice, I went into the important fights with a shield of over 4000 HP, because BiL was actually shielding me for over 600 HP per turn. You should be aiming at a minimum of 200% crit modifier. Actually, something closer to 220% is perfectly realistic. As everything about this build, this will boost your offense and defense.

Inscriptions: You need two wilds, one physical and one mental/*, through the whole game. The third early game inscription could be one of: a movement infusion, a shielding rune, a phase door rune, a teleportation rune, I would say in that order of preference. At the end, you are looking at having 5 inscriptions, or 6 with Ogre, thanks to the Writ Large talent. My recommended final loadout is: wild physical, wild mental, movement, heroism, controlled phase door, and optionally shielding or healing or regeneration (in that order).

Prodigies: I actually don't have a strong opinion here, as there are so many prodigies that you might benefit from. The two shielding prodigies work very well for us. So would Draconic Will, or Spine of the World, or Cauterize, or Flexible Combat, or Irresistible Sun, or even Arcane Might. For an Ogre, even Secrets of Telos could be a fun prodigy. Let me know what you prefer.

There are probably other aspects of the build that I wanted to comment on, but I cannot think of them now. Feedback welcome!

[Majestix]

And here is the character dump (after winning the game, but before dying to Atamathon, who was getting through the 4000 shield and triggering Second Life in two attacks):

Code: Select all

  [ToME4 @ www.te4.org Character Dump]

Sex              : Male         STR:  124
Race             : Ogre         DEX:  62
Class            : Sun Paladin  MAG:  131
Level            : 50           WIL:  69
Exp              : 2282%        CUN:  102
Gold             : 1677.81      CON:  44
Times died       : 1

Accuracy(Main Hand):  85        Life             :     2138/2138Encumbrance      : 153/283
Damage  (Main Hand): 143        Stamina          :     436/486  Difficulty       : Insane
Permadeath       : Roguelike
APR     (Main Hand):  26        Mana             :     658/729
Crit    (Main Hand): 125%       Positive         :     144/178
Speed   (Main Hand): 1.11       
                                
                                
                                

Fatigue          : 22%          Spellpower       : 88.6808
Armor            : 82.460925884595Spell Crit       : 100%
Armor Hardiness  : 100%         Spell Speed      : 1
Defense          : 45.036975294865
Ranged Defense   : 50.703641961532
All damage       : 9.1%

Physical Save    : 91.1406426879
Spell Save       : 82.180642687898
Mental Save      : 74.68535

All Resists:  21%
Poison Resistance:   5%
Confusion Resistance: 100%
Blind Resistance: 100%
Silence Resistance:  68%
Pinning Resistance:  29%
Stun Resistance: 100%
Instadeath Resistance: 100%

Number of NPC killed: 7163
Most killed NPC: fire drake hatchling (308)

  [Winner!]

Well done! You have won the Tales of Maj'Eyal: The Age of Ascendancy

The Sorcerers are dead, and the Orc Pride lies in ruins, thanks to your efforts.

You have prevented the portal to the Void from opening and thus stopped the Creator from bringing about the end of the world.

The orc presence in the Far East has greatly been diminished by the loss of their leaders and the destruction of the Sorcerers. The free people of the Sunwall will be able to prosper and thrive on this land.

Maj'Eyal will once more know peace. Most of its inhabitants will never know they even were on the verge of destruction, but then this is what being a true hero means: to do the right thing even though nobody will know about it.

You may continue playing and enjoy the rest of the world.


  [Talents Chart]

 - Race / Ogre                        (mastery 1.00)
    Ogric Wrath (generic)             1/5
    Grisly Constitution (generic)     5/5
    Scar-Scripted Flesh (generic)     2/5
    Writ Large (generic)              5/5
 - Technique / Two-handed assault     (mastery 1.10)
    Stunning Blow (class)             0/5
    Fearless Cleave (class)           0/5
    Death Dance (class)               0/5
    Execution (class)                 0/5
 - Technique / Shield offense         (mastery 1.10)
    Shield Pummel (class)             3/5
    Riposte (class)                   4/5
    Shield Slam (class)               4/5
    Assault (class)                   1/5
 - Technique / Combat techniques      (mastery 1.10)
    Rush (class)                      2/5
    Precise Strikes (class)           5/5
    Perfect Strike (class)            1/5
    Blinding Speed (class)            5/5
 - Technique / Combat veteran         (mastery 1.10)
    Quick Recovery (class)            1/5
    Fast Metabolism (class)           1/5
    Spell Shield (class)              0/5
    Unending Frenzy (class)           0/5
 - Technique / Combat training        (mastery 1.10)
    Thick Skin (generic)              5/5
    Armour Training (generic)         5/5
    Combat Accuracy (generic)         5/5
    Weapons Mastery (generic)         0/5
    Dagger Mastery (generic)          0/5
 - Spell / Staff combat               (mastery 1.30)
    Channel Staff (generic)           1/5
    Staff Mastery (generic)           4/5
    Defensive Posture (generic)       1/5
    Blunt Thrust (generic)            0/5
 - Celestial / Guardian               (mastery 1.30)
    Shield of Light (class)           5/5
    Brandish (class)                  4/5
    Retribution (class)               5/5
    Crusade (class)                   4/5
 - Celestial / Chants                 (mastery 1.30)
    Chant of Fortitude (generic)      5/5
    Chant of Fortress (generic)       0/5
    Chant of Resistance (generic)     0/5
    Chant of Light (generic)          0/5
 - Celestial / Light                  (mastery 1.30)
    Healing Light (generic)           3/5
    Bathe in Light (generic)          5/5
    Barrier (generic)                 5/5
    Providence (generic)              4/5
 - Celestial / Combat                 (mastery 1.30)
    Weapon of Light (class)           2/5
    Wave of Power (class)             2/5
    Weapon of Wrath (class)           3/5
    Second Life (class)               5/5
 - Celestial / Sun                    (mastery 1.30)
    Sun Ray (class)                   3/5
    Path of the Sun (class)           2/5
    Sun's Vengeance (class)           5/5
    Suncloak (class)                  2/5
 - Uber / Constitution                (mastery 1.00)
    Eternal Guard (class)             1/1
 - Uber / Magic                       (mastery 1.00)
    Spectral Shield (class)           1/1

  [Inscriptions (6/6)]

Rune: Controlled Phase Door
Infusion: Wild
Rune: Shielding
Infusion: Wild
Infusion: Movement
Infusion: Heroism

  [Current Effects]

- Shield of Light
- Precise Strikes
- Chant of Fortitude
- Defensive Posture
- Weapon of Wrath
- Weapon of Light
+ Burning
+ Runic Saturation
+ Infusion Saturation
- Ogre Fury
- Heroism
- Attack
- Ogric Wrath
- Spellsurge

  [Character Equipment]

 In main hand
a) magewarrior's short dragonbone starstaff of blasting (30-36 power, 6 apr, light element)
   Type: weapon / staff ; tier 5

Base power: 30.0 - 36.0
Uses stat: 80% Mag
Damage type: Physical
Mastery: Staff Mastery
Accuracy bonus: +2.5% procs dam / acc
Armour Penetration: +6
Physical crit. chance: +5.0%
Attack speed: 100%
When wielded/worn:
Accuracy: +15 (+3 eff.)
Physical crit. chance: +9.0%
Physical power: +7 (+1 eff.)
Changes damage: +30% light
Talent granted: +1 Command Staff 
Critical mult.: +11.00%
Spellpower: +30 (+6 eff.)
Spell crit. chance: +17%
It can be used to unleash an elemental blastwave, dealing 156.74 - 188.09 light damage in a radius 6 around the user, putting all charms on cooldown for 10 turns.
 In off hand
b) Summertide (17 def, 15 armour, 52-62.4 power, 260 block)
   [Unique]
Type: armor / shield ; tier 5

When used to attack (with talents):
Base power: 52.0 - 62.4
Uses stat: 100% Str
Damage type: Light
Mastery: Stoneshield
Accuracy bonus: +2.5% procs dam / acc
Physical crit. chance: +4.5%
Block value: +260
On weapon hit:
* 30% chance to blind
* releases a burst of light
When wielded/worn:
Armour: +15
Defense: +17 (+5 eff.)
Ranged Defense: +17 (+5 eff.)
Fatigue: +12%
Changes stats: +3 Cun / +5 Wil
Changes resistances: +20% light / +10% fire / +15% darkness / +12% mind
Changes resistances penetration: +10% fire / +10% light / +10% mind
Changes damage: +10% fire / +15% mind / +15% light
Talent granted: +5 Block 
Mental save: +18 (+4 eff.)
Blindness immunity: +100%
Confusion immunity: +25%
Maximum psi: +20.00
Mindpower: +8 (+2 eff.)
Light radius: +3
It can be used to send out a range 7 beam, lighting its path and dealing 100.03 to 125.04 light damage (based on Willpower and Cunning), costing 12 power out of 30/30.
   Dropped by orc fighter
 On fingers
c) Galebiter the stralite ring
   [Unique]
Type: jewelry / ring ; tier 4

When wielded/worn:
Damage when hit (Melee): 4 blight
Changes stats: +4 Mag / +7 Wil
Changes resistances: +3% blight / +9% lightning
Changes damage: +9% blight / +9% lightning
Physical save: +15 (+3 eff.)
Spell save: +11 (+2 eff.)
Mental save: +10 (+2 eff.)
Silence immunity: +33%
Mana each turn: +0.27
Spellpower: +13 (+2 eff.)

   Dropped by Ce'Nyvena the war bear
d) Glory of the Pride
   [Unique]
Type: jewelry / ring ; tier 5

When wielded/worn:
Accuracy: +10 (+2 eff.)
Physical power: +10 (+2 eff.)
Armour: +10
Armour Hardiness: +20%
Defense: +5 (+1 eff.)
Fatigue: -15%
Changes damage: +8% physical
Talent cooldown: Rush (-6 turns)
Physical save: +45 (+8 eff.)
Confusion immunity: +50%
Maximum mana: -40.00
Maximum stamina: +40.00

   Dropped by brittle clear ooze
 Around neck
e) voratun amulet 'Urthirain'
   [Unique]
Type: jewelry / amulet ; tier 5

When wielded/worn:
Accuracy: +10 (+2 eff.)
Armour penetration: +7
Physical crit. chance: +5.0%
Damage when hit (Melee): 12 blight
Changes stats: +4 Mag
Changes damage: +3% acid / +8% temporal / +8% light / +15% blight / +12% fire / +8% physical / +8% darkness
Critical mult.: +45.00%
Spellpower on spell critical (stacks up to 3 times): +8
Maximum mana: +20.00
Maximum vim: +10.00
Spellpower: +19 (+3 eff.)
Spell crit. chance: +7%
Damage Shield penetration: +10%

   Dropped by Velura the orc pyromancer
 Light source
f) Lavaseam
   [Unique]
Type: lite / lite ; tier 5

When wielded/worn:
Armour penetration: +13
Physical crit. chance: +6.0%
Physical power: +10 (+2 eff.)
Damage when hit (Melee): 4 mind
Changes stats: +7 Wil
Changes resistances: +6% arcane / +3% fire
Changes resistances penetration: +10% mind / +15% all
Changes damage: +15% arcane / +6% fire
Critical mult.: +20.00%
Blindness immunity: +50%
Confusion immunity: +30%
Light radius: +12
See stealth: +25
See invisible: +24
It can be used to activate talent Track, placing all other charms into a 40 cooldown :
Effective talent level: 4.0
Power cost: 40 out of 40/40.
Range: melee/personal
Travel Speed: instantaneous
Description: Sense foes around you in a radius of 50 for 7 turns.
The radius will increase with your Cunning.
   Dropped by Utvep the dúathedlen
 Main armor
g) Sepsisclash (5 def, 10 armour)
   [Unique]
Type: armor / heavy ; tier 5

When wielded/worn:
Physical crit. chance: +9.0%
Physical power: +21 (+4 eff.)
Armour: +10
Defense: +5 (+1 eff.)
Fatigue: +16%
Effects on melee hit: 
* Slows global speed by 40%
Changes stats: +9 Str / +9 Mag / +15 Wil / +7 Cun
Changes resistances: +18% lightning / +9% darkness / +9% mind / +6% nature
Changes resistances penetration: +5% darkness
Changes damage: +6% nature
Mental save: +42 (+9 eff.)
Spellpower: +22 (+4 eff.)
Spell crit. chance: +10%
Mindpower: +18 (+4 eff.)
Mental crit. chance: +10%

   Dropped by Elena the orc blood mage
 Cloak
h) Nerivea (16 def, 10 armour)
   [Unique]
Type: armor / cloak ; tier 5

When wielded/worn:
Armour: +10
Defense: +16 (+5 eff.)
Damage when hit (Melee): 16 blight
Changes stats: +6 Mag / +6 Wil
Changes resistances: +10% acid / +10% fire / +10% lightning / +10% cold
Changes damage: +12% arcane
Physical save: +25 (+5 eff.)
Spell save: +24 (+4 eff.)
Mental save: +25 (+6 eff.)
Stamina each turn: +0.80
Maximum stamina: +10.00
Spellpower: +4 (+0 eff.)
Spell crit. chance: +11%

   Dropped by Ce'Nemirin the orc pyromancer
 On head
i) voratun helm 'Huritofang' (0 def, 5 armour)
   [Unique]
Type: armor / head ; tier 5

When wielded/worn:
Physical power: +9 (+1 eff.)
Armour: +5
Fatigue: +5%
Changes stats: +7 Str / +9 Wil / +14 Con
Changes resistances: +18% acid / +11% physical / +15% temporal / +25% cold / +15% lightning / +29% fire
Physical save: +14 (+2 eff.)

 Around waist
j) Greenwolf
   [Unique]
Type: armor / belt ; tier 5

When wielded/worn:
Physical crit. chance: +15.0%
Effects on melee hit: 
* Slows global speed by 42%
Changes stats: +6 Cun / +6 Dex
Changes resistances: +6% lightning / +6% cold / +6% light
Physical save: +12 (+2 eff.)
Poison immunity: +5%
Pinning immunity: +10%
Stun/Freeze immunity: +10%
Maximum life: +104.00
Maximum mana: +80.00
Maximum stamina: +52.00
Maximum hate: +20.00
Maximum psi: +40.00
Maximum vim: +29.00
Maximum pos.energy: +31.00
Maximum neg.energy: +37.00
Mindpower: +8 (+2 eff.)
Mental crit. chance: +11%
Reduces paradox anomalies(equivalent to willpower): +19

   Dropped by Elorin the radiant horror
 On hands
k) Dakhtun's Gauntlets (0 def, 6 armour)
   [Unique]
Type: armor / hands ; tier 5

When wielded/worn:
Physical crit. chance: +10.0%
Armour: +6
Changes stats: +6 Str / +6 Mag
Changes damage: +10% physical
Critical mult.: +50.00%
Spell crit. chance: +10%

 On feet
l) Bethebrekira the pair of voratun boots (0 def, 5 armour)
   [Unique]
Type: armor / feet ; tier 5

When wielded/worn:
Accuracy: +4 (+0 eff.)
Armour: +5
Fatigue: +4%
Changes stats: +5 Con / +6 Wil
Changes resistances: +12% fire / +9% cold
Changes resistances penetration: +10% physical
Reduces incoming crit damage: 10.00%
Maximum encumbrance: +20
Silence immunity: +35%
Confusion immunity: +33%
Stun/Freeze immunity: +50%
Maximum life: +20.00
Maximum stamina: +20.00
Mindpower: +8 (+2 eff.)
Healing mod.: +25%
It can be used to activate talent Blindside, placing all other charms into a 25 cooldown :
Effective talent level: 3.0
Power cost: 25 out of 25/25.
Range: 6
Travel Speed: instantaneous
Description: With blinding speed, you suddenly appear next to a target up to 6 spaces away and attack for 48% (at 0 Hate) to 162% (at 100+ Hate) damage. Your sudden appearance catches everyone off-guard, giving you 34 extra Defense for 1 turn.
The Defense boost improves with your Strength.
   Dropped by Mayagatha the giant lightning ant
 Tool
m) Pick of Dwarven Emperors (dig speed 12 turns)
   [Unique]
Type: tool / digger ; tier 5

When wielded/worn:
Changes stats: +3 Str / +3 Con
Changes resistances penetration: +10% physical
Physical save: +7 (+1 eff.)
Spell save: +7 (+1 eff.)
Mental save: +7 (+1 eff.)
Maximum life: +50.00
When carried:
Talent granted: +1 Dig 

[Effigy]

Looks pretty good. A few suggestions:
- Personally, I would get a 4th inscription at level 10 and unlock Celestial/Guardian at level 20 instead. During the early game, you probably already have enough places to spend your class points and having an extra inscription can be a game changer. I like to have both a Movement infusion and Teleport rune as soon as possible, plus the standard Wild infusion and Shielding rune.
- I think you're missing out by not training Perfect Strike higher. This talent is really good for a variety of situations. You could easily take some points out of Shield Slam to put here.
- You didn't mention healing modifier in your gearing suggestions. This not only benefits direct healing/regen like Healing Light and Shield of Light, but it also increases the damage shield scaling from Bathe in Light. Quite valuable overall.

[Majestix]

Thanks for the feedback!

- Personally, I would get a 4th inscription at level 10 and unlock Celestial/Guardian at level 20 instead. During the early game, you probably already have enough places to spend your class points and having an extra inscription can be a game changer. I like to have both a Movement infusion and Teleport rune as soon as possible, plus the standard Wild infusion and Shielding rune.

Yeah, that also works, although it would mean waiting until after Sandworm Lair to get Rush.

- It seems like a waste to raise both Staff Mastery and Weapons mastery. I would just max Staff Mastery and float a few points in Weapons Mastery until then.

Wait, so the accuracy bonus from Weapons Mastery does not apply to staves? I always assumed that it did, and never thought of checking. If it doesn't, then I totally agree, it was a waste. If it does, then I would still do both.

- I think you're missing out by not training Perfect Strike higher. This talent is really good for a variety of situations. You could easily take some points out of Shield Slam to put here.

That's a good point, I was actually activating Perfect Strikes before every more or less difficult fight. I would need to experiment on the dummy to see whether more points would be worth it.

- You didn't mention healing modifier in your gearing suggestions. This not only benefits direct healing/regen like Healing Light and Shield of Light, but it also increases the damage shield scaling from Bathe in Light. Quite valuable overall.

Also a good point. I have to admit, that I wasn't really prioritising healing modifiers, because there are lots of them around, and because I felt like my sheer hp survivability was already covered. But it certainly contributed to the over 300HP healing per turn that i was receiving from Shield of Light.

[Effigy]

Wait, so the accuracy bonus from Weapons Mastery does not apply to staves? I always assumed that it did, and never thought of checking. If it doesn't, then I totally agree, it was a waste. If it does, then I would still do both.

Actually, this way my mistake. I misread your character report and thought I saw points in Weapons Mastery, but it was really Combat Accuracy.

[Atarlost]

This is a point that every discussion that I have seen about this talent has missed. The point of Sun's Vengeance is not the few hundred HP of damage that you occasionally get to deal for free (which is certainly nice), the point is that at regular intervals, which will get very short when your crit rate nears 100%, you get to regenerate 16 positive energy without using a turn. This is of critical (no pun) importance to the effectiveness of the Shield of Light talent.

Um, this is something I've been saying for quite a while. I'm not sure how you missed it since you talked about contrasting views on delaying rush and I think I'm also the main person who advocates early rush.

[Majestix]

Um, this is something I've been saying for quite a while. I'm not sure how you missed it since you talked about contrasting views on delaying rush and I think I'm also the main person who advocates early rush.

In that case, sorry to have claimed any sort of originality, and glad we agree!