Great track by the eagles and also was used in Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy. And very appropriate for Grousemerlin my 13th life Sorcerer who has been put away for a while. I was so busy with Ziggy and moving his Iconic lives forward so I left Merlin alone. I know some people plan who they will play and when so they make time for them all but mine is all down to moods and what I want to be doing, I was quite happy cleaving but last night after taking Ziggy into Devil's Assault I still wanted to play but I had out cleaved myself. So I flicked through a couple of characters, was very tempted to take my bard out for a change but wanted full blown magic and not a melee with a touch of magic. So Merlin came out and after all the effort to get the 12 past lives I am seeing spells work more effectively at least the 2 I am focusing on.
May be a bit early in this life to play with dragons
As a level 4 Sorcerer you don't really have much in the way of offensive firepower but I am finding Electric Loop with all the past life bonus's stacking very, very effective for this lowbie. Running round Tangleroot with a cleric and a summoned dog is so easy, I am one shotting small groups or on the odd occasion using Sonic Blast as a back up. The stun effect is great as it leaves monsters open to nips from the Celestial Dog or a whack from my hireling. I know at level 4 it is all very easy when you are trawling over old ground and we could really do with so more low quests to increase favour farming and make it a little easier to level but more importantly to avoid or minimise staleness for those of us who are reincarnating for the Nth time. But having the ability to clear a room at level with one shot is awfully nice no matter what room you are in.
All finished now, amazing what a little shocker can do
Because of the fact it is a 36 point build does mean I am running quests again and again. But this is Merlin's last life so I can take my time and smell the roses with him rather than just run the best experience per minute quests and it does add to the enjoyment of running quests I have run in the hundreds of times, if you look at the depths quests in house D I would not be surprised if those ones were in the thousand plus times completed. I have a liking for the structure of 4 short quests piggy backed if you want to have choices and I am comfortable blasting them out in 12 minutes, I don't run every optional but I do have a lot of fun and it has been my go to set of quests when I have been testing builds. So sort of a good feeling being back in there even though I have run it enough times to know exactly what is where and what is a possibility.
Not even holding a beer? Well that sucks!
Remembering that I do not raid so equipment wise I am just going on what I can get out of the auction house or stuff I have put by in previous lives. In 12 lives you do pick up some interesting stuff but with the new loot tables it seems I may want to rethink my strategies on what I have been holding onto. I need more and more magnetism and as I will be taking water as my second choice some frosty enhancements are on the agenda just a case of stocking up on wands to cover things I haven't put in my spells list/
So this is yet another post about my Iconic and his first life, and the cosmetic armour does make him look like he has been lit up by neon lights which gives me an excuse to use this title via Black Sabbath from one of my all time favourite albums. I wasn't sure when I was going to write this and the screen shots are from when Ziggy was a hero but now he is Epic.
Lots of things for Ziggy to use
However this is much more about how well two attacks are working. For experienced players who play Paladins regularly this will be no news but for players who haven't got use to Paladins this is a good set of super powered strikes. The healing ability of a Paladin is one thing but to be able to cut down opponents with easy is a joy. Having used the abilities through Gianthold, Orchard of the Macabre and Vale of Twilight and seen rares fall before the strikes it is worth pointing these out for newer players or players who are unfamiliar with Paladins and are thinking about playing Knight of the Chalice(KotC).
Bodies and a Warm fire makes life fun
So first we have Exalted Smite which is a tier 3 ability which you can get after level 3 and spending 10 action points in KotC. An improved smite that adds +2 to your weapon's critical damage multiplier and to your weapon's critical threat range (I have maxed the ability). Which in layman's terms means doing a shed load of damage, I have seen many mobs drop to a single blow. It recharges like Smite Evil so you can get some back without needing to shrine. I have got into a bad habit though of spamming this attack to get rid of more effective mobs to bring them down with a single blow. I love how this brings down targets and as it recharges itself it really is a bonus although it is a little slow.
I see dead people, lots of dead people
The other attack that I love to bits is Holy Retribution which is a tier 5 ability so requires at least 5 level of Paladin and your character to be minimum level 12. Executes a powerful holy strike that deals +1[W] damage. On Damage: Evil creatures with less than 1,000 HP have a 50% chance to be forced to make a Will save (DC 10 + Paladin Level + Charisma Mod) or be destroyed. On a successful save, the affected creatures take 100 holy damage from this attack as well as -6 to all ability scores for ten seconds. (Cool down: 6 seconds) This ability also recharges one Smite Evil. In short it smashes opponents down like chopping wood. And because it recharges Smite it helps if I have been a little greedy in using Exalted Smite.
Nothing to do with Ziggy just a pic I love a lot.
Now every class and prestige tree has abilities and special attacks that work well but I am in love with the effectiveness of this for a bladeforged using a great sword. I have made Epic and this has had a lot to do with it, the constant use of exalted smite and then taking out the bosses with the retribution. Of course recharging another attack is a real bonus. So as much as I love standing off and blasting with magic there is a certain charm in smashing opponents.
