Teuton11 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I can't post or ask for help on the main DOA forums as I have lost my key and I can't register my game. It seems that there isn't much discussion on character builds/stats/etc on this forum. Where would I go for proper help? One link I was given is Archery Link since I want to make a rogue archer .... however the link says and I quote enough dexterity to equip your weapon of choice with Fade, gear and specialization bonuses, the rest into cunning. Dexterity-based archers are easier to start with (no attack rating issues; however, cunning build archer rogues have a decent option of choosing Duelist for a first specialization, thus effectively solving the problem), but overall much worse mid- to late-game due to armor penetration problems. The best specialization by far for your archer is Bard due to Song of Courage. Essentially, Aim + Song of Courage + Rock Mastery combination is what makes your cunning-based archer worth the investment. so at this point i am lost into what i need to invest my stats ... cunning or dex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brokenergy Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 (edited) Dex and willpower mostly, archery uses a lot of power and you would have nothing left to shoot. But if you want a better build, do what the wiki tells you, invest in cunning as it will increases your chance of attack and is great with other rouge skills. Edited January 25, 2011 by brokenergy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razorfish Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 (edited) I'm mostly playing melee rogues at the moment (archer is on the backburner until my next playthrough), but I've also spent some time analyzing the build/approach described by the article you linked and doing some minor testing of it with Leliana specced and moderately geared for it. So, I'll summarize what I think the guide is getting at: Invest primarily in Cunning, however, you need to first put in as much Dexterity you need to spec into your spells/talents and wear your desired gear. Because you're not maxing Dexterity, you need to get +hit chance (attack rating) in some other way. Options include: (not required) Pick up the first talent in the Duelist tree, Dueling, which is a sustained ability that gives you +10 attack rating (required) A party member with high Cunning should maintain Song of Courage, which gives +attack rating, +damage, +crit chance, scaling based on how much Cunning the sustainer has. Since you will be investing in Cunning, you might be the one sustaining Song of Courage. There is also a stacking bug(?) that allows you to benefit from the effects of two Songs of Courage, as detailed in the linked wiki page. (required) Aim + Master Archer gives +20 attack rating, among other bonuses (not required, but helpful) Wearing +attack rating gear[*]Only add enough to Willpower to sustain your auras and use any specials you want to use (e.g. Scatter Shot), but no need for more than that. With this approach, you are potentially using a lot of sustained abilities that reserve most of your stamina bar. The idea of this build is to maximize your crit chance to the point where your autoattacks are always critting. Then, you will do more dps just autoshotting than activating spells/talents (the aiming delay of activated spells/talents kills your dps). [*]You will feel weak(er) playing the character this way until you get decent gear (decent crit chance). Shale is a MUST in your party for Rock Mastery. Perma auto-crit setup actually requires an Aim + Rock Mastery exploit to achieve, according to the Rock Mastery page! There is a haste cap. There are entire tables on Dragon Age Wiki about how much rapid aim is enough (there is a haste point at which you don't even need the rapid aim property on your gear at all, iirc). There are problems with stacking Rock Mastery + Rapid Aim with Haste Aura, and/or Potion of Speed together (there is a mod that fixes that). There are specific skills/talents that must be taken, and there seem to be some more nuances to gear for that spec, but that wasn't your question, and I'm getting long winded :pinch: Edited January 25, 2011 by Razorfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teuton11 Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 (edited) I'm mostly playing melee rogues at the moment (archer is on the backburner until my next playthrough), but I've also spent some time analyzing the build/approach described by the article you linked and doing some minor testing of it with Leliana specced and moderately geared for it. So, I'll summarize what I think the guide is getting at: Invest primarily in Cunning, however, you need to first put in as much Dexterity you need to spec into your spells/talents and wear your desired gear. Because you're not maxing Dexterity, you need to get +hit chance (attack rating) in some other way. Options include: (not required) Pick up the first talent in the Duelist tree, Dueling, which is a sustained ability that gives you +10 attack rating (required) A party member with high Cunning should maintain Song of Courage, which gives +attack rating, +damage, +crit chance, scaling based on how much Cunning the sustainer has. Since you will be investing in Cunning, you might be the one sustaining Song of Courage. There is also a stacking bug(?) that allows you to benefit from the effects of two Songs of Courage, as detailed in the linked wiki page. (required) Aim + Master Archer gives +20 attack rating, among other bonuses (not required, but helpful) Wearing +attack rating gear[*]Only add enough to Willpower to sustain your auras and use any specials you want to use (e.g. Scatter Shot), but no need for more than that. With this approach, you are potentially using a lot of sustained abilities that reserve most of your stamina bar. The idea of this build is to maximize your crit chance to the point where your autoattacks are always critting. Then, you will do more dps just autoshotting than activating spells/talents (the aiming delay of activated spells/talents kills your dps). [*]You will feel weak(er) playing the character this way until you get decent gear (decent crit chance). Shale is a MUST in your party for Rock Mastery. Perma auto-crit setup actually requires an Aim + Rock Mastery exploit to achieve, according to the Rock Mastery page! There is a haste cap. There are entire tables on Dragon Age Wiki about how much rapid aim is enough (there is a haste point at which you don't even need the rapid aim property on your gear at all, iirc). There are problems with stacking Rock Mastery + Rapid Aim with Haste Aura, and/or Potion of Speed together (there is a mod that fixes that). There are specific skills/talents that must be taken, and there seem to be some more nuances to gear for that spec, but that wasn't your question, and I'm getting long winded :pinch: Thx for the help, but now I have to say the following. If you refer back to the guide it says that for Dragon Age Awakening you want to go Dexterity. Let me quote it: A viable DAA archer is vastly different from a viable DA:O archer. The main contributing factor to this is Accuracy modal ability. In short, DA:O Cun-based archers will have to undergo a respecialization. A classic Str/Dex archery build is much more viable in DAA due to insane benefits from Accuracy. However, it is worthy to remember damage from abilities and gear (DamageBonus attribute) is capped at 100. That said, Dex-based critical chance and critical range (+X% critical/backstab damage) bonuses from Accuracy far outweigh any possible benefits one can gain from investing in Cun or Str. So does that mean I should go for cunnin/dex in DAO and then respect to dex in DAA? Any other advice? Edited January 25, 2011 by Teuton11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razorfish Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 A viable DAA archer is vastly different from a viable DA:O archer. The main contributing factor to this is Accuracy modal ability. In short, DA:O Cun-based archers will have to undergo a respecialization. A classic Str/Dex archery build is much more viable in DAA due to insane benefits from Accuracy. However, it is worthy to remember damage from abilities and gear (DamageBonus attribute) is capped at 100. That said, Dex-based critical chance and critical range (+X% critical/backstab damage) bonuses from Accuracy far outweigh any possible benefits one can gain from investing in Cun or Str. So does that mean I should go for cunnin/dex in DAO and then respect to dex in DAA? Any other advice?Yes, it does seem that way. The Awakening spell/talent Accuracy increases the value of Dexterity to the point that it edges out Cunning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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