Are there any website recommendations for current PVE builds (Attributes and Weapons)?
I’m a PVE player on a private server and only been playing a couple months. I spend most of my time gathering, building, looting small camps, and exploring so carry weight is necessary to me - lots of resources and loot. I’ve been playing with the attributes but could use some help and curious what other use in this situation. Most of what I find when doing an online search is years old and there have been multiple updates since.
I’m looking for basic info such as:
Strength or Agility?
Is there a viable “all-around” PVE build to avoid having to change attributes for different activities?
Good new/mid game level weapon options (I currently use mainly my bow, sometimes maces or daggers for mele - not a fan of the heavy feeling weapons)?
Viable attribute options for PVE who relies on carry weight while exploring but still likes to fight?
Thanks for the feedback!
Edit: My current attributes are: Strength 5 (more damage), Agility 15 (faster and less stamina cost), Vitality 5 (passive health regen), Authority 10 (passive health regen for Thralls), Grit 5 (extra armor and stamina), and Expertise 20 (carry weight).
There are a few issues to keep in mind.
Grit is usually extremely good due to the Stamina system in it’s current form.
If you want to do anything… Climb, Run, Attack, Block, Roll… you must invest in Grit to get more stamina.
Of the two attack stats, this one finds Agility superior.
Reasons:
Also contributes to Stamina
Improves move speed and reduces stamina cost for mobility
Double Jump. Never take Double Jump. It will take hold of you and you will resent it’s absence.
Agility weapons are better in most circumstances.
On Exiled Lands you can get a free legendary katana of the highest calibur within a few minutes of creating a new character.
Strength has some merit, but not as much.
Extra encumberance is nice.
The perks are ok, but only for the heaviest of weapon and armour builds and then you will run out of stamina frequently. Some strength perks only work when you are injured. The other issue is the junction of slow start up speed and lack of hyper armour (resistance to being interrupted) for most weapons. Agility weapons have better attack vectors with more control and good start up speed for light openers. Strength weapons, by comparison, tend to open slow and are easily interrupted. Even then, with rare exceptions, they aren’t out damaging Agility builds.
The Paradox of Strength and encumbrance is that all that carry weight you get and save, only really has impact in heavy armour builds… Which ruin stamina recovery and fill up your capacity before you even get into the exploring.
For a suggested every day adventure build…
This one would say pick Strength or Agility.
Take that all the way.
Then take up to the first perk in Expertise, to help with encumbrance, survival needs, and durability management.
Then pick either Vitality or Grit.
Take it all the way, and put the remaining points into the other one.
This one would suggest pairing Agility and Vitality/Strength and Grit
The Strength+Grit is less flexible because you will need the extra stamina you are missing out on for choosing Strength.
For an encumbrance primary build.
Run your expertise, grit and vitality all the way.
Pick a weapon that inflicts sunder and a damage over time effect.
Slap heavy armour on a 'Zerker or other robust thrall with good damage multiplier, and then be the tank loot goblin while property person does the fighting.
You will get a feel for what works best with your play style. What works in general you may find doesn’t satisfy your specific needs, so absolutely experiment around to figure out what you can and cannot live without.
For me strength is picked over agility only in two instances. 1)war party builds where I want to have a gang together and we all take folks on. (She of heroes turnede onto this and it’s fun doing freya and liu fei together . Their bonuses really compliment each other. 2) corruption builds because corrupted strength is nice. Also if you want a mounted build, you always take strength over agility.
My go2 build is ag3vit3grit2enc4. It’s just fun to. Play solo with it.
The pve build I tend to favor lately:
Strength: lvl 1 / 2 (pretty much unnecessary since we can free prisoners now).
If you free a bartender: Break the bond and get rid of it for now until that issue has been resolved. But if you choose to keep him/her, sit them down in a chair or on a bench and leave them.
agility: lvl 3 (dead shot)
vitality: lvl 1 (regeneration)
grit: ignored except: lvl 1 if strength is set to 1 (If strength is ignored set this to lvl 3).
authority: (max) war party *attention to “prowess”.
expertise: (max) for beast of burden
armor: Black Corsair garb (highest bonus to agility each piece).
add heavy padding for extra protection.
For cold areas: I tend to favor Zingaran Freebooter. (Epic only available and seems to provide some undocumented cold protection).
Best cold protection is Pride of Aesir which is gotten through a quest around Mounds of the Dead.
(Pride of the Aesir must be made at the Forge of Ymir).
If you have the DLC: Pictish Brave medium armor is agility bonus and better than light armor. (Caution: Does not provide serious cold protection)
For weapons: (which are agility centered):
Epics definitely: Star metal Short sword is devastating if you know how to use it. (51 base damage)
Bow: Hollowbone bow: Deadly (38 base damage?)
Legendary shortsword (?): Dueling blade of the Hawk. (~60 damage)
Legendary Katanas (all - agility based) (Star metal is 2nd choice).
Followers
Frost Giant bodyguard: (can’t be knocked down).
Pet: White Tiger or (white) Dire Wolf
Optional instead of pet: If you can do the sacred hunt and get that champion for a follower. That and the frost giant make a pair that’s near impossible to stop.
Ignore decorations till you’re level 60 and can reset your knowledge points and then concentrate on top tier tools and weapons. Then spend the extra points on your knowledge as you wish.
If you need more knowledge points, go hunting for bosses that tend to drop fragments of power and use those to gain more knowledge points.(15 each).
Did that get changed?
Dueling Blade of the Hawk was a strength based single handed sword last time this one had one.
The only legendary Shortsword this one has found on Exiled Lands is Sword of the Champion, which drops in the volcano from one of the Serpentmen bosses (the one behind the volcanic forge, where the degenerate talks about how their spawn are defective).
And it is a beast.
80+ Attack
20% + Penetration
But it is fairly fragile, less than a thousand durability. Around 790?
That said, the Star Metal short sword does well enough and is clutch for putting down golems quickly.
While this one is very glad to have more Shortsword options (obsidian and black ice would be nice, perhaps one blood crystal eventually…) it is more than a little amusing that Strength based Freya uses an Agility weapon.
Perhaps that’s why your sword doesn’t feel right Nord girl.
It’s not cursed, it’s a finesse weapon and she’s a brawny build.
My advice would be… Try different things and see how it works for you. Try all the things!
I haven’t done Freya’s quest yet but my understanding is you get the recipe for her sword, Hjorthrimul, which is a short sword, from it. I did get a non epic version of it from a chest in UC which seems odd.
