Uber PvM Ranged Animal Build?

[dtportnoy69]

Hi everyone. I haven't played UO in the longest time and am getting back into it now. This shard with all its features and stuff I've never seen makes UO feel brand new So I like to plan ahead so I will explain what my play style is and some ideas I have in my head and hopefully you guys can reply with some advise or builds that you've enjoyed

Alright so I like the defensive/ranged/non-melee build type! Attack from a distance and don't get caught! So what i will focus on is Barding/Taming/Magics/Archery or Throwing/Healing. I also like to not be killed in one hit so will probably try to get heavy Mage Armor. Also, is it viable to have a Shield with a Throwing weapon, instead of just a Bow? Or is the Yumi just too good to switch to Throwing/Shield combo?

Now for stats I was thinking high INT and DEX, but some people on chat were saying get high STR for the HP. I was thinking with the caps going for 150 INT/125 DEX/ 75 STR (assuming max cap 300 + 50). Any reason I shouldn't keep STR that low? Is DEX worth putting 125 in for ranged combat and spell casting?

I still have alot to learn and figure out, but figuring this basic part will help me forward.
Thanks in advance!

[Lust]

First of all, welcome to the shard!

Since this shard has no skill cap, you can be a jack of all trades in all skills. However, if you mean by play-style you'd like to focus on using those skills on your everyday activities then go right ahead. I do not know of any throwing weapons besides shurikens, most players use yumi's for range combat as well as pets for tanking monsters. If you haven't had the chance to review the UOEx Wiki <http://uoex.net/wiki/Main_Page>, I'd suggest skim through it since it is a great resource covering much of the custom features on the shard. Of particular note are the spells section (which contains information on clerical spells) as well as the New Player section which helps give you pointers on getting some gold early on.

As you mentioned on stats, popular build is Max Str and Dex then whatever you have remaining goes to Int. A lot of the high end equipment in the game will give you insane mana regeneration as well as weapons that give you mana leech to restore your mana quickly in combat. Str helps with HP and damage, whereas high Dex helps with healing faster and increased swing speed. Cap is 125 for each stat unless you use the +5 max to stat scroll purchased through ED (donation currency) which will enable you to get up to 150 on an individual stat. Feel free to play around with your stat combination though since INT may be useful in the beginning when your mana regen is low.

Good luck!

[dtportnoy69]

hmm interesting. I have looked around. The cleric spells look awesome. I was thinking high INT for the spell damage. Just wondering if it would be worth the stat points or might as well not bother and use SDI equipment. Now wondering if 125 or 150 DEX make a big difference in terms of speed because I know the speed is capped.

Yeah and my ooops about the throwing weapons. I was thinking Stygian Abyss for some reason!

[Cygnus]

Again, welcome to the shard! Glad to have you on board. If I had to do it all over again I would concentrate on gaining dexterity and intelligence primarily. Although you would have the urge to raise your hit points as high as you can at first you will find there are many items out there that will help add strength and along with healing self with aids and magic you can compensate for lower hp's with those. And, until you get above the 180 hp range, there are several monsters out there that will still one hit you with breath, magic or physical damage anyways. Bows are obviously the range weapon of choice and it would be up to your own personal taste if you want one that delivers maximum damage per hit versus one that hits less hard but more often. Keep in mind that you cannot shoot a bow while moving here.

There is lots to see an do here so I know you will enjoy your stay. One advice I give to all new players here that I talk to is "LEARN TO STEALTH" as soon as possible. I hear it all too often from new players who get over confident after buying or breeding their first good set of pets an go off after the big prey, "Can someone please rez me before my body decays?" There is usually an avenue to resurrect with either an ankh, healer or portal nearby but since they can't stealth and their pets are dead by now, they get slaughtered before they reach their original body. The corpses just keep piling up and it gets harder to figure out which one was the one with all the stuff in it. So, train your hiding and stealth early here and any traumatic unhappy endings will be a lot less frequent.

Oh by the way, if you do not like dying, it's like taxes, it's inevitable. If you ever need any help don't ever hesitate to ask. There are plenty of very knowledgeable players here or love to help.

[dtportnoy69]

Thanks for the love! Those are some good tips and I"ll keep them in mind. I'm usually busy working so I'll be macroing/AFK ALOT. I have a business to run so I have to make UO manageable, but it's nice to let go once in a while and explore my old home

Cygnus are you a drummer by chance? Neil Peart got me back into drums over 10 years ago hehe. Actually got band practice tonight. Only play once a month or so nowadays Peart and Portnoy were my inspirations, hence my username

Back to the work grind!

[fingers]

For dex, swing is indeed capped, I beleive at 1/1.25 second, but applying bandages is not capped. Alot go to 220 dex for that almost instant bandage self.

Then if you have high dex and a good Yumi, you will actually not want to cast spells as it stops you swinging. And for an example, 1 armor peirce (preceeded by enemy of one and consacrate weapon) on a devorer of sould deals about 200 damage. a flame strike would take at the least twice the time to cast and make at the most half the damage.

As for the "heavy mage armor" your armor can be in leather or metal, it won't make a difference. The thing that does make a difference is the number of resists in each element. You want 70 resists in physical, fire, cold, poison and energy. If you have metal armor, you want it to be mage armor or it will black your mana regeneration from meditation. All leather armor is "medable"

I hope this helped

[dtportnoy69]

Hey fingers thanks for the tips! That's exactly what I wanted to hear! I love Archery in every game I just never though in UO it could be a viable forerunner in damage. So that is great news. If only there were Lower Arrow Cast armor! Is there a quiver of infinite arrows?

All these tips have pushed me towards a different stat build thanks

I guess Mage armor is good if you find a really good piece of metal armor. I like the idea of mage armor deed so it will be interesting to take another look at the artifacts.

THanks once again.

[Cygnus]

DT, I am definitely no drummer, just a Rush nut. I also hold Dream Theater in high regard.

[anarchy]

some more info. this is a pet shard, and there are many types of pets, but the best pets to have are called imprisoned pets. they are the best pets, because if they die they do not lose any stats. sometimes when a normal pet dies it will lose 5% (unsure of this) of their stats, but only sometimes. with imprisoned pets you do not have to worry about this so you can just res and send them into battle. also, bio's make very nice pets (3k hps), but they take 3 pet slots.

yeah dex of over 220 is insta heal with bandies. a lot of the great items comes from doom guantlet, and i'm sure you'll find out there are relayered items. (500 eds).

you can also buy eds from other players or from typing in [exex then click on the custom tab.

oh btw duh i welcome you too.
good luck

[dtportnoy69]

Haha thanks. I"ve been getting into the game. Just macroing tons of skills right now while I work. There's alot of systems I need to familiarize myself with. The crafting seems to be much different then I last remembered. You can craft jewelry now!! And fletching looks more useful

About those imprisoned pets, how exactly do you get them? I haven't checked the wiki for that specifically yet

[anarchy]

imprisoned pets are a monster drop. lady melsilindawhateverhernameis drops imprisoned squirrels. shimmering drops ferrets, travesty drops dogs (which can polymorph into a clone of you), and grizzle drops ethy sick horse.

you will need a lot of ointments to raise their hps, dex, resist, armor etc... i can show you around sometime to all the different place those pets are dropped. fyi they are seriously very rare drop. i normally get about 500 elven notes and buy them off a stone, but in order to get to that stone you have to get it from slaarion. good luck

[dtportnoy69]

lol thanks for the offer. I'll PM you my msn since i'm really rarely in front of the UO screen lol. Just uber busy lately, but if you have MSN I'm always on working

Just gonna skill up a lot as I probably can't even kill those monsters for the drops yet anyway. I got my taming to 120 tho, and lore to 100. (is it worth to get lore to 120?)

Ooh and I noticed an item with a "Animal Lore Bonus", does it add the bonus on top of the caps?

In case you actually see me in game my char name is Blindshot. I just got my LRC suit so I'll probably be raising my magery next.

Peace out!

[fingers]

Yes, lore is very usefull for the druid spells. And you actually need 127 or 128 lore to never fizzle enchanted grove, a spell often used at champ spawns to keep your mana and hit points up. Lore clothing does bring you over the cap. It is obtained by doing taming bods.

Ciao

[anarchy]

yes the bonus will raise you over the 120 stat cap for that skill. best out there are the +5. there's a robe, and sash, but i don't know if there are other's around. ah well.