Melee Saves

Having just pinned a warrior, what is a decent hit/dam and saves that I should generally aim for before fighting people who attack me? I'm sitting at like 36/38 and -10 vs spell, -10 mal. Something like that.

Just wear the best armor you can find. Don't worry about stats.

IMO though, wearing saves is only useful against shamans if you're a warrior as they concentrate on landing a mal at a time anyways.

Against anything else, go full on hitroll and outhit/damage them before they can land or cast anything.

60 hit/dam is where dimishing returns kick in - but I doubt you can get 60/60 and good saves so:

Try for 60 - 70 hit, 40 dam and -35 to -40 saves (total) across the categories (ie you have -9 svs from warcry so you only need to find -31 when you add svs and specific saves together to achieve this).

If you're 'on the cheap' - and lets face it, the times when you aren't 'super suited' are going to far exceed the times when you are then look for the saves vs the class you are fighting the most ie if you have 6 invokers in you opposing cabal you're going to be looking for -sva first.

I'm no warrior expert so my approach could easily be flawed (which would account for my inability to play a warrior with what I would consider any amount of sucess).

L-A

I'm just starting to experience the warrior class myself and I'm not quite sure I agree with stacking on hit and dam. It makes sense if you know how to get 60-70 hit and 40 dam, but like L-A said your not going to have that kind of hit/dam most of the time. Even -20 in a save is better than nothing, especially if you can't get high hit/dam. The point is not to block the spell entirely, but to delay it enough so you can initiate the beat down.

Though take what I say with a grain of salt, I'm not too successful with my Warrior .

Here's my thoughts on the warrior world. A lot has changed since I've played a pure melee, but I think the general idea is still the same:

Before I even get started, you should realize that:

1. Everything depends on your race. A FG must have afflictive saves, for example. I'll make some references to this, but on the whole assume I'm talking about ogres (as it is what I've played most).

2. Weapon selection is -everything- for a warrior. Especially with the advent of warrior lores. These can also change your strategies.

3. Cabal choice can also change things. I'm going to gear a NEXUS warrior differently than I would a WARMASTER. Especially in the beginning stages of equipping.

Okay, here are my thoughts on equipping your warrior. There are two main schools of thought here, stacking saves and letting your multiple attacks do enough damage or stacking hit/dam and doing too much damage for them to land spells anyways.

Anyone who know me knows that I'm a big fan of the second method. I'll explain why. (Please note I do think -some- saves are important, but don't focus on them until I'm putting together my "uber" set) Before you play a pure melee I recommend rolling up a cleric/healer/druid/etc. Do this and go around identifying and making a list of every consumable you can find. When you're done, you will quickly realize that almost every malediction that hinders a warrior can be cured with a potion or a pill. So much for needing mal saves.

The -biggest- mistake people make with warriors is assuming they are a straight-forward, thoughtless class. Warriors probably have the most strategy of any class I've played. They also require the most low-end work to achieve probably one of the highest top-end results. Consumables are your life as a warrior. If you aren't stocked up, you're dead to any smart C/C (communers especially).

So, start off focusing on hit/dam, but with preparation. That is what most people miss out on. From there, as you can, you do need some saves to survive. Everyone says focus on maledictive saves, I say nay! Mental saves should be your first focus, because mental spells are the ones that kill a consumable/equipment-based class. If your opponent can dispel your sanc/frenzy/haste/enlarge even 1/2 of the time, you're going to lose. If you get put to sleep or otherwise incapacitated, you're going to lose. Lucky for you mental saves are, in my experience, the easiest to get in this new world. There are plenty of items with -8 or more mental saves AND some hit/dam out there. These are your friend. Again, you've got that cleric identifying stuff for you. Figure out what you need before you ever start playing that warrior in the 50 range.

The third focus for you (again, as an ogre. This changes depending on race) is afflictive saves. You should have enough hp, especially with protections and whatnot that you've stocked up on, to take some unsaved hits. But if you get a couple of saves here or there it makes your opponent much less likely to win. You don't need to shoot for the sky with this category, but having a few items (see those same mental items mentioned above) can help.

All of the above is null and void for a warrior without item knowledge and SPEED. There are items to knock your opponent out of the air for that trip, but odds are you're going to be chasing with an offensive warrior (both to land the kill, and to keep the opponent from healing/returning). There are warrior lores to help with this, but overall you NEED to be able to follow and murder faster than they can run three rooms and co 'cure crit'. Know areas that you'll be fighting in like the back of your hand. If you have to run while blind and disoriented (you shouldn't, because you've got loads of consumables), one of my big tricks is to find rooms that you can identify while blind as a starting point. This may be because of a talking mob, a specific exit that is unique to the area, a fountain, anything. You have to be able to get out fast, is the point.

In the end, when you're stacked with high hit/dam, there isn't a class in the game that can keep up with your offensive output. There are classes that are tough as nails for a warrior to fight/win against, but there is no single class that should always dominate a prepared, equipped warrior. You just hurt too much. That's why I'm a fan of method #2. There are enough consumables to make up for lacking saves (maledictive especially). Find them, use them, hit for DEMOLISHES 4+ times a round on an unsanced opponent. No one lives long (even after sanc reduction) when you do that.

====yes, this turned into a mini-warrior guide. Whoops====

Well first off, you will want to let on if it is a Giant, Ogre, or minotaur. Minotaurs really having the best "advantages" of warriors, dual 2 axes (mage killer) and a nice charge with no downside save an exp penalty. I have found that afflictive damage, while painful, is nearly voided since you can carry eatable curatives. Maledictions kill warriors flat out, you land 2 or 3 uncurables, and take away their regen, they are done 9 times out of 10. So just hit up the mal saves, get to about a 50-55 hitroll (not that hard at all really) Then stock up on mal saves, damage is useful, but not exactly necessary

The mino charge is only for zerks. On a warrior, it is just another charge...

Whoh, hold up there buddy. Why do people keep saying this? It's completely, utterly, and in all other ways wrong. I've got a mino warrior at fifty, and I can tell you from personal experience that they DO get the lag charge, just not the free round of axe smashing.

Mino warriors don't get the charge.

I just barely used it in a fight vs a shaman like yesterday!

Highly depends on your race, warrior lore and which people you fight most.

I meant the zerker charge bonus that minos get. I know they get a lagging charge, but they don't get the horn toss/destruction charge.

Which is what I just said, as well.

Ah, that noob TNG thought all charges lagged... What an idiot!

Aww

Ah, that noob TNG thought all charges lagged... What an idiot!

Aww

They do - mino zerk just more than usual and repeatable + horns toss.

Mino warrior not more than usual and not repeatable and (it seems) no horns toss.

I know Viri changed it after about 1 week of mino's being allowed to be warriors as he said it would be 'too much' for a warrior to have.

L-A

Woho, I was right then. Because that's the way I have always thought it was.

GAAAAAHHHH!!! NOOO! It IS repeatable! That's what's special about it! BAAHHH!

GAAAAAHHHH!!! NOOO! It IS repeatable! That's what's special about it! BAAHHH!

Sorry mate - but I really want to know if its the same as the zerks one. So, lets go through the effects:

1. Lags for 2 rounds - not 1 like normal charge

2. Get 1 attack for every axe wielded

3. Can repeat at infinitum - effectively meaning charge lock is possible.

I know this is what the mino zerk one does. You're telling me the mino warrior one does all of this?

L-A

Mino warrior does 1 and 3, but not 2.

1. Lags for 2 rounds - not 1 like normal charge

I think the lag on charge is varriable, I have definatly lagged for more than one with regular charge before.

1. Get 1 attack for every axe wielded

They get a full round of combat worth of swings, I have seen up to five. I have heard of up to 7.