shifter builds

Gumppy · Post by **Gumppy** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 2:58 am

well im new here and started a druid monk build, luckily havent taken any monk yet

because fatzo helped me out and steered me to the wiki.

However was going to take shifter now instead to epic lvl 11? has anyone done this , and can u help me? What would be sort of the ideal lvl to swap from druid to shifter to survive and are the epic shapes ( ive read all the entries for em in the wiki) good out in the field of play?

I would appreciate any advice from people who have been there and done that thank you kindly

kingfatzo · Post by **kingfatzo** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 3:05 am

Not sure about druid/shifter combos...i have never built one....but i have made a pure druid....

--initial downfall however -- its a real pain to level him from 20ish-30 without a party

Post by **Mr. O'Dearly** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 3:08 am

how did that dragonshape work out for ya?

Is it worth it?

Death Dealer1 · Post by **Death Dealer1** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 3:19 am

everything i have seen from any druid/shifter leads me to believe that at any lvl unless built very specifically by a shifter building mad man...they suck compared to anything their own lvl.

Gumppy · Post by **Gumppy** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 3:23 am

ok thanyou, any hints on what very specifically means ??

I need helm MAN! or should i just delete the toon ?

Epistaxis · Post by **Epistaxis** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 4:55 am

Gumppy wrote:ok thanyou, any hints on what very specifically means ?? I need helm MAN! or should i just delete the toon ?

I would say decide in advance what shape you wish to specialize in and pick weapon focus, improved crit and such in that particular shapes weapon. Put all ability points in the stat that is not changed for that shape which is usually either str, con or dex.

Gumppy · Post by **Gumppy** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 5:07 am

Excellent, thanks for the advice. to the WIKI !

Gumppy · Post by **Gumppy** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 5:20 am

ok was thinking undead shape perhaps but the info on the wiki is scant compared to the excellent amount about humanoid shapes. Do the risen lord or the vamp come with a wpn ? and nothing mentions wether your boots merge into the shapes for your dex bonuses.

Aslo the epic kobold +6 sword looks pretty cool but is it a long or short sword ?

i guess a little trial and error is the way to learn about shifters

oh and for those unarmed shapes is wpn focus unarmed applied to att rolls like with an earth elemental ?

Post by **Yonwe** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 6:25 am

ok was thinking undead shape perhaps but the info on the wiki is scant compared to the excellent amount about humanoid shapes. Do the risen lord or the vamp come with a wpn ? and nothing mentions wether your boots merge into the shapes for your dex bonuses.

Aslo the epic kobold +6 sword looks pretty cool but is it a long or short sword ?

oh and for those unarmed shapes is wpn focus unarmed applied to att rolls like with an earth elemental ?

In terms of the Undead forms, Risen Lord has initially a +5 Scythe with +3 Vamp. Regen. and Keen; of course, it merges any improvable properties from the weapon you wield when you shift, so an air plane spear, for example, adds in its 2d12 Piercing, 1d6 Sonic, 1d6 Electric, and 2d12 Massive Crits. as well... works for any form with a weapon, so it's important also to find a good weapon to go along with them.

As for Vampire and Spectre, both are unarmed, so it doesn't matter what you wield before you shift into them. The killing power of both is based here in NS4 (due to a bit of custom modding by moi

) on an On-Hit two negative levels: Vampire has higher STR and CON than in normal HotU now, which allows it to follow up the drain with some beefy damage as well, whereas Spectre has low STR and only 1d3 native base damage, but has a slew of added immunities (I believe it's currently the only thing in NS4 period that has immunity to knockdown).

As for Epic Kobold, their +6 weapon is a +6 Keen Shortsword with +2d4 Acid damage and a token bit of poison; they also get Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat for the form, so their high DEX comes into play with the Shortsword despite it being a "medium" weapon for their small size. I always take Finesse anyways as a normal feat in my build since so many shapes benefit from it, but if you squeeze it out in yours Kobold still enjoys it.

And lastly, indeed, Weapon Focus: Unarmed applies to any form that doesnt use a weapon; normal and epic WFU is a must in my eyes, since it gives +3 to hit on 60% of normal and epic forms... and +56 to hit at 40th with a squirrel-loving, tree-hugging Dragonshape Shifter is worth frustrating all the non-TC "normal" Druid Dragons

P. Fricebottle · Post by **P. Fricebottle** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 11:55 am

i guess a little trial and error is the way to learn about shifters

Yes indeed, the Wiki is a player-run site. We're trying to add in everything we can, this includes monsters, items, areas, jobs, the list goes on. We can't discover everything at once, and everyone is allowed to edit/post on the Wiki (just no graffiti).

Oh yes, I have a question concerning shifters Yonwe. I have noticed on a couple of summons this specific feat --->Weapon Focus (Creature)<--- which is impossible for any character to take of course. Do any of the druid/shifter forms use this "weapon" or do they all use "unarmed"?

CrazyJ · Post by **CrazyJ** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 12:01 pm

Creature Weapon Focus applies to claws and the like. Unarmed shifter shapes, including Dragon, operate as "Unarmed." Improved Critical: Unarmed thus applies to most shapes, giving them a crit range of 19-20 rather than merely 20.

kingfatzo · Post by **kingfatzo** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 12:10 pm

To respond to O'dearlys question above, yes i feel that dragonshape is worth it However, i havent tested the build under pvp combat situations, tho ones i have seen work allright...but mind you if you are looking for the ultimate pwn everything build, dragonshape isn't it. ....Though it is entertaining once the build is finally done.

Post by **Metis** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 1:06 pm

Just a note on unarmed creatures, unless someone knows differently, focus, epic focus unarmed do not apply to your ab while shifted the only feat that helps is improved critical.

kingfatzo · Post by **kingfatzo** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 1:21 pm

Hmm...i cant reacall if wep focus added or not w/ the druid....could run it in a test mod if anyone is concerned.

Post by **Yonwe** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 1:23 pm

The two weapon focus feats apply to the forms that don't have multiple damage breakdowns listed on their characters sheets. For example, take these two form AB's (Top is Spectre, bottom is Stone Golem) :

Note how for Spectre, is says "Main Weapon: Unarmed" and then "Damage" below; this is how it shows up for Monks, signifying that it's drawing its "weapon" from a base unarmed property of the character itself (which is to say no "creature item" is present in the "creature inventory," which is not normally accessable by players on the player client). For the Golem, it still says "Main Weapon: Unarmed," but instead of "Damage," it has "Attack 3"; this means it's drawing weapon properties from a creature weapon in the creature inventory (in this case Slot 3, hence Attack 3), and therefore would use the "Focus: Creature" instead.

If memory serves all the mods I did to Shifter with new attack forms, Vampire, Specter, Iron Golem, and Dragons all benefit from the Focus: Unarmed feats, as well as a smattering of non-epic forms. Demonflesh Golem, Stone Golem, Death Slaadi, and the armed epic forms (Rakshasa, Azer, Risen Lord) don't.