OK, before I plunk down a couple of Kpp and the rest of my practice points, does anyone have any suggestions as to how best skill up my 1HS? I recently got my epic and would like to get back to more melee ;P

I have a 65 Chanter to help with slow and free runes, so survival should be possible, tho my gear is pretty bad (~2500 HP unbuffed).

Thanks.

Hi!

Standard fare for raising melee skills involves finding a zone with exp creatures within, asking a group that's already there and fighting if they'd mind you working on skills out-of-group, and start swinging away! Most groups won't turn down free heals/nukes, and your skills get whisked up quickly. Work on your hand-to-hand!



Toodlepip,

Get a mob into flee mode. Any mob that will flee (read = NOT UNDEAD) that cons blue to you, dot/nuke them down till they want to run. Keep em esnared. Turn on auto attack and go get coffee. Come back and reapply ensnare every 8 mins. ;)

Of course this is assuming your not in a spot where you will get adds.

Fearing animals works also, but then you risk both fear breaks and adds.

With my 53 Druid I found Seafurries worked well, at 65? Maybe PoS frogs?

For melee skill increases you want the fastest cheapest 1hs you can wield (I use Icepaw War Claw 9dam 24del) and you want decent DEX and haste.

OK, before I plunk down a couple of Kpp and the rest of my practice points, does anyone have any suggestions as to how best skill up my 1HS? I recently got my epic and would like to get back to more melee ;P

I have a 65 Chanter to help with slow and free runes, so survival should be possible, tho my gear is pretty bad (~2500 HP unbuffed).

Thanks.

Head to the Crypt of Nadox in LoY. When you zone in, egress immediately. Put the staircase leading up to the Crypt at your back and zone into the Torgiran Mines. Go through the false wall and turn right once through. Proceed down the hall, out the door, and past the two sets of guards. You'll find yourself in a large cavern filled with bloodguards. Many, if not all, should be barely dark blue at 65. Find a safe spot (there are quite a few in this area), set up camp, pull a bloodguard, get it into run mode (they run right at 20%), and start whacking away. I'd think it would be a decent way to get your weapon skills up without the assistance of anyone, plus you can make a little chump change off the bloodguards while you are at it.

Edit: Aye, PoS frogs work well for this too, but I didn't think of them since that camp is still fairly contested.

Aldane Aglond
Ayonae Ro

This technique would work well in WW with proper COV faction...

Hehe just smack on mobs when you are the healer, in between nukes, or on a raid when mobs die so fast you cant nuke anyway.

I was about to say that Quaras.
I did that with the velium hounds. Only thing is I was hitting so little that they would regen and flee mode would end, then they'd attack me :p

With the availability of many good 1hb weapons at low to mid levels and relative rarity of decent druid-usable 1hs, I think a lot of folks have found themselves in this situation.

Agree with Patofnaud, equip the fastest 1hs you can get. If you don't have a haste item, borrow/buy one with at least 34%, and use the highest haste buff your chanter can cast. Versus dark blue mobs, 1hs will go up fairly quickly.

If you're ONLY concerned with raising skill and not worried about doing real damage, I'd advise *not* using proc weapons, and stay away from Dex, Str, or ATK buffs -- those won't really help with skill-ups but they will add to damage and the number of hits you land. Keep in mind: the faster a mob dies, the less time you'll have to practice during its 'flee' mode.

Oh, and PoS frogs are good (if available) because you can use the same one indefinitely. If you find yourself doing more damage then the frog's innate regen, charm it and buff with a low level regen, then break charm and resume whacking. )

~Firemynd

i think i did all my weapon skills in howling stones, in small groups, but that was back before we could advance to 65, i think.

'nother thought, if you want to actually gain a minisucle amount of xp while doing this, is to cornertank mobs in CT... just apply heals to yourself liberally, junk up on ac/hp buffs and kill leezards.

best bet, overall, though, is prolly the pos frog... just due to how long you'll be able to whack away at one mob. i think they flee at 15%, if you try it.

I remember maxing my 1HS just in xp groups, especially with a bard singing his/her heart out with dex/agi/speed/whatever it is they sing and getting speed from the enchanter.

Used this (pre-epic):
http://www.allakhazam.com/equipment/graphics15/vluudeens_Tail.jpg

Always drops off a named wurm in wurm caves in GD. I remember my wizard bf and I kited him for about two hours to get this when I was like lvl 40.

***

Still need to max my 1hb, 2hb and h2h...someday maybe (not high on my list)

You could also just buy this:

http://www.allakhazam.com/equipment/graphics6/WellBalancedScimitar.jpg

for what looks like 169pp from Shady Swashbuckler in EC (since speed is what counts).

best way to raise skills is to go to areana in bazaar with a friends pet class...../pet hold the pet and melee it....youll raise skills providing its blue con which level 60 ones are to a 65 or any level lower.

Tils

I got my 2hb 1hs and h2h maxxed on chokidai and raptors... its also a sneaky med tactic if you make a chokidai your last kill in your camp run... heirophants crook.. best 2hb a druid can use while upping 2hb.. just make sure itsn' single pulls.. get chanter haste...go to town and proc the crap out of that stick... I've done 2k proc dmg in a small fight w/ boon and epic chanter haste... really fun... and GREAT for killin greenies..

Most creatures in LoY -- Trolls that is -- will flee, and will also give you skill ups even at level 65.

Yes! A use for LoY!

If you're ONLY concerned with raising skill and not worried about doing real damage, I'd advise *not* using proc weapons, and stay away from Dex, Str, or ATK buffs -- those won't really help with skill-ups but they will add to damage and the number of hits you land.

I thought that the higher your dex is the faster you learn weapon skills. Can anyone verify or deny that?

Yes. High DEX = faster melee skill ups. Get a Harnessing of Spirit from a Shammy. Lasts as long as KEI.

Actually your best and safect bet is to find a Beastlord who has a Kitty for a warder pet and practice your 1hs on it that way. SO MUCH FASTER

What did back when I was doing the Pureblood quest, I would DoT the Blackguards and whatever it else with the usual lineup for one duration. Then I would nuke them with Summer's Flare then tank them rest of the way down. With regen and DS/Brackencoat it wasn't too bad.

I maxed out 1hs in Velks, farming threads for my shawl. I was boxing a 59 shaman, for slow + buffs, and I tanked them myself. IIRC at 60-61 the spiders were mostly light blue, so this may not be an option for you at 65.

Good luck!