An Incident and Questions

We'll start with two, at any rate ;)

First thing...the other night, I was up near Bristugo, killing Ruxus for a Quest; I'm new to the game, so I've been keeping an eye on the combat log (or, whatever it's called) to see what most damages the various nasties I'm encountering. I killed yet another Ruxus and achieved DRAG24, so, I stopped slaughtering to see what I'd gained. The 12 Training Points were my major item...I'm going to be asking more about Training Points in a moment, but, for now, I'd been putting *most* of my TP into Strength, with a smaller percentage going to Prime, and the rest alternated between T/C, Dexterity and Health. Not (yet) asking if those choices were "proper," just stating the facts leading to "the incident."

Purely on a whim, I put 6 of my 12 TP into Primal, 4 into Strength, and the remaining 2 into Health, and, went back to killing Ruxus. *Immediately,* I noticed a MAJOR difference in the damage numbers I was inflicting on the Ruxus...they'd more than doubled. As soon as the monster was dead, I scrolled back through the previous kills to make sure I was correct...I was. From one ruxus to the next, all of the damage numbers I was dealing out had more than doubled.

I looked around, to see if someone had buffed me while I wasn't looking, but, no one was around...and, looking at my screen, I could see that the only buffs were ones I'd cast on myself. I'd looted nothing from the previous ruxus to explain this jump. The ONLY thing that had changed was reaching DRAG24 and the 12 TP I'd used.

According to everyone I've talked to, those 12 TP could not have done this. Well, *something* did! Mind you, I am NOT complaining, at all; I'm very happy with the results...just bemused by the cause.

Which leads to the Question(s). My combat style is simple. Usually, I'll use Dragon's Reach to pull a monster, hold it for a moment with Primal Spark (think that's the one), cast Grazing Winds on it, and start the stronger of the healing Breezes, to heal myself while combat goes on. Once that's all done, the monster is usually in melee range, so, a quick Tail Swipe, and then it's a matter of using every combat ability (not AoE) I possess...smacking every hotkey I have, essentially.

And, this, I'm guessing, makes me a melee dragon. So, we come to the question of TP again. Strength sounds like it increases damage dealt during melee, among other things, so, I've been putting the bulk of my TP there. The tool-tip for T/C says something like "...if weapon is unequipped," which I thought meant, if you're not wearing a combat claw, which I always am, so, I pretty much ignored T/C. I was also under the mistaken belief that most of my abilities were Primal in nature, so, that's where I'd been putting the second-most number of TP.

I've been informed that I should, indeed, be putting more TP into T/C, and I've now begun to do that. But, if I may ask the assembled multitude, IF I'm actually a melee dragon, where should I be putting most of my TP? More into this or that...an equal number into two...should I basically ignore most of the other choices??

And, just what the heck happened up on that hill the other night that made ALL of my damage numbers sky-rocket???

Thanks, to all who read and reply!

Toadhailys (or, just Toad)

Not all rexus are the same level, so it could be that the previous one was three level higher than the one you killed last. This with a level change (you level also increased your strength and power.) maybe could have done this. However, I find it still much. Nevertheless, it could be that you are just capable to kill rexi, because the armour is subtracted from your damage. This will exaggerate the effect of levelling.

I think you were attacking the same type of rexus, not changing from huge too small or large. Just to confirm.

Now on distributing you training points

I would start reading the old tazoon post. https://community.istaria.com/forum/...s-(by-smeglor)

This will give you an idea on how combat works and how it is implemented. I still have a question how the "contest" is resolved it help understand were points are good for.

What you are doing is a melee dragon. every animation where you are wiping to make a physical tough is tooth and claw (and tail). Breath wings and spell (something flying from your claws) are caster if I’m right.

Strength is damage on T/C, dex is evade and hit change for physical. Power is damage on casting and focus is the hit change of casting and evade change of casting. Roughly spoken.

But its better that a professional dragon player answers this part

Thanks for the reply, gkoster, and the link to the older post; the section on Attributes, in particular, was very helpful.

Having looked at all the damage ranges for all of the various abilities a small, pink hatchling has, it appears that I went from "under-performing" to "performing normally" after I added those 12 TP; the damage amounts I'm dealing out are consistent with what I should be doing, at my level, and with the scales and claw I have...the damage amounts seem to have been *low* before adding those TP.

Why there was such a dramatic change, I have no idea...and, despite several knowledgeable folks telling me that it can't have happened, I must insist that it did...:cool: and I'm not complaining!

Thank you, also, for the very clear description of what a "melee dragon" is...or, how it works, perhaps. I'm now nearly 4-levels above where I was when I suddenly became more lethal, and I've been adding my TP to T/C and Strength, for the most part, and have been very pleased. I'll also be adding TP to Dexterity, although not in large amounts...I like being able to dodge physical attacks!

Thanks, again!

Toadhailys

Hi Toadhailys

I can't really say anything more on the sudden jump in your effectiveness, other than as gkoster suggests your previous ruxus may have been level 27 and the following one level 24 for example.

However if you're interested in dragon builds I love these guides. Of course they are just guides, feel free to do what you enjoy the most!

http://istaraschosen.com/guides/

Welcome to Istaria :)

You asked for a melee dragon where your training points should go. My recommendation is to max out t&c (so half of all tp's you get each level), then put 2/3 of what's left into evasion, and the remainder into Primal. Many will say that points in evasion don't help, but it does. It's not immediately noticeable, but by level 100 it will be helping. Evasion is one of those stats that has very few ways to be increased. Some newer (T5 only, drag-to-apply) techs can increase it, but it's by relatively small amounts (+16) at the expense of a t&c tech or something else.

Evasion means the monster misses you more often. You are still going to get hit (why most think it does nothing). By level 100, 400 tp's into evasion means taking about 10% less melee damage on average. But it really shines in epic hunts when the boss misses you with something big that kills half your group. But you are still alive! Pop a heal quickly, res a buddy, keep on fighting. Many many times in epic hunts, my Dragon is one of the last standing (if not the last) and it's due to putting points in evasion (partly anyway).

Dex is 1/3 as effective as weapon skill (t&c for dragons) in to-hit chance as the skill itself, 1/3 as effective as evasion in dodging incoming melee, and increases the minimum damage you do (shrinks the damage 'range' produced by the randomizing of the damage each hit does, by bringing up the lower number in the range. By how much I don't know as Smeglors post doesn't explain it fully). But you don't want to put points in Dex to get evasion. Putting all you can as a level 100 player into Dex, 600 points adds +150 dex, which if I remember right adds 6 evasion... wasteful way to add evasion. You get the other mentioned benefits, but not in amounts large enough to be effective. (Players have tried making a full on dex buffed dragon with poor results).

The good thing about training points, is that you can move them around and try different combinations. Spreading them out too much among different skills winds up ineffective.

If you make a spellcasting dragon, you will want to max out primal, put 1/3 of remainder into t&c (you will still use claw attacks on occasion), and 2/3 of the remainder into evasion. Since a primal dragon can heal a little better though, you should experiment. Maybe dump them all into magic evasion.

Whatever you do, it is always a good idea to give it a week once you try a training point layout, to really get a feel for the effects. Then switch then up, give it another week to see what you notice. Most changes are not immediately felt or obvious (putting points in evasion), but over time you can see the difference and appreciate them.

*************
Regarding your ruxus hunting, if I had to guess I would echo what the others have said, you went from a higher level one to a lower level one. Each level does add t&c skill, strength, tooth&claw mastery (might not be exact name), and one of those passive abilities that only changes every so often probably also increased to its' next stage.

Thanks, Guaran, another very clear explanation of one of the Attributes, and your suggestion to put 1/2 of my TP into T/C and 2/3 of what's left into Evasion is something I hadn't heard before...I'll give that a try, as you advise, for a week or so to see how it feels.

Quick question about Dexterity...does it (or, anything else!) influence my speed on the ground? I'm just under DRAG 30, and don't plan on attempting my RoP until I'm at 50/50, so, being able to outrun nasties is important to me! :rolleyes:

I'm now about 4 levels above where I was when I noticed that sudden jump in damage, and I've been putting TP into T/C, so, it's hard to make comparisons. But, I need to stress, the "change" has been permanent...it's not just with Ruxus but with everything I've fought since then: the damage I'm dealing out now reflects, much more closely, what the "details" of each ability say I should be getting. Before the "change," I was definitely NOT reaching those numbers.

I *think* I may have found the "solution," but need a few days to experiment, get a good feel for what I now think may have happened.

And, finally, once again I want to thank everyone for the replies. I'm finding this game fascinating, on many levels, and a great deal of my enjoyment has come from the interaction with the small, but incredibly friendly players!

Toadhailys

Speed techs on wings, gift of speed, runspeed potions, and a few foods like cotton candy are all that affect movement speed outside of sprint. There are tool crystals with small bumps to speed as well, but they are hard to find and only equip in tool claws.

But no, nothing training point related affects speed.

Have fun experimenting :)

Once you get your dragon to Ancient, try a biped or 2. They can master abilities from different classes, which means you can use them when not in the school, which means you can pick and choose and build a character up with skills for various schools. It's like a whole different game.

Okay, thanks, Guaran....Yeah, my "plan" is to get to level 50/50 before my RoP...I'd like to get the level 50 hatchling scale, plus, I just want to take time to really get to know Istaria, especially the lore. I don't plan - at the moment - to do much lair-shaping until I've reached Ancient, but, that could certainly change, once I reach Adulthood...and, after THAT, I'll delve into one of the biped races...

Should all be a lot of fun!