So I am trying a melee build now that might actually work as intended...even though they are still inferior to mages. My build: Axes Dual Wield Master of Arms Burglary - For get out of jail free card, easy xp on locks, and trap coolness Assassination Alchemy Smithing Is this viable for Going Rogue? What should I level up first? Thanks for any help!
I have a similar build -- just going swords instead of axes, psionics instead of alchemy, and berserker instead of smithing. I'm currently on level 9 and doing fine, but we'll see how the archdiggles go...currently if they hit me it's 29 damage (I have 22 absorb / 9 piercing resist). If you're going to go smithing, I'd recommend boosting it earlier rather than later. Burglary is also important for getting to Ninja Vanish at least, since otherwise you don't have any escapes. Oddly enough it's not really all that helpful with traps; in fact that's the big hole in that build. Worst case you can Move in Mysterious Ways around them, I guess. Assassin procs are always useful, particularly Sneaky Shiv since it paralyzes monsters. I'm not too familiar with the axe line; frankly it looks underwhelming. I'd push Dual Wield before Axes, for the increased counter chance. So basically, smithing, then Sneaky Shiv, then burglary through Ninja Vanish, then whatever seems reasonable.
Thanks. I went axes over swords because the AOE seems better (thinking about dealing with zoos)...and a lot of people seem to prefer it over swords (which I think are more for countering builds?). I can see going psionics over alchemy for the push and heal, but do you consistently have the mana to cast the spells? I worry about that. Also, why berserker over smithing? Wouldn't better armor and weapons early on be of more benefit? If I want to keep smithing, would berserker be better than master of arms? So many questions...so little time, lol.
There's tons of booze around, more than enough to heal when you need it, which I didn't all that often. I finished with over 500MP worth of booze in my pack (and over 1000HP worth of food...). That said, you can't really claim that psionics is better than alchemy (or vice versa); they're just different. As for berserker over smithing, I wanted to go with a no-crafting build. Though I did end up tinkering up some bolts with all those iron and steel ingots I found. I did happen to get lucky with my early weapons, though, so even if I'd taken smithing it wouldn't have been of as much benefit as usual. I can't really say which of berserker or master of arms is better. My gut says to go with berserker if you don't need master of arms' tier-2 ability, since otherwise master of arms doesn't give you much.
