→Valkyrie
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How many points to put into Valk is open to debate. If you are only in Hell games with lots of players, 1 is probably enough. If you are doing solo runs or are in small games and have very low hit points, or lag a lot, or are Hardcore and nervous, you'll want more points in Valk to be safe, and should probably recast her every time she's anywhere near low. Higher level Valks also have a wider pool of potential mods on their random equipment, and can spawn better base gear, but since you don't know what their mods are unless they have something visible graphically, this isn't a real big bonus. The mana cost can get expensive if you keep adding to Valk, so consider your mana pool and how fast you can leech it back if you're getting your Valk up to high levels. | How many points to put into Valk is open to debate. If you are only in Hell games with lots of players, 1 is probably enough. If you are doing solo runs or are in small games and have very low hit points, or lag a lot, or are Hardcore and nervous, you'll want more points in Valk to be safe, and should probably recast her every time she's anywhere near low. Higher level Valks also have a wider pool of potential mods on their random equipment, and can spawn better base gear, but since you don't know what their mods are unless they have something visible graphically, this isn't a real big bonus. The mana cost can get expensive if you keep adding to Valk, so consider your mana pool and how fast you can leech it back if you're getting your Valk up to high levels. | ||
It's also worth noting that higher level valkyries have higher resistances. A valkyrie gains 2% resistance per level, and is synergized by Decoy (in addition to it's help with the valk's life) by increasing it's resistances another 2% per hard point placed into decoy. Each level a valkyrie has also gives it 12 additional dexterity, which increases her defense and attack rating appropriately (though this isn't shown in the skill description. The valkyrie's level also determines which gear she spawns with, as follows : | |||
lvl 1 : rare full plate mail and spear | |||
lvl 2 : add magic heavy gloves | |||
lvl 4 : add magic heavy boots | |||
lvl 5 : add magic heavy belt | |||
lvl 7 : upgrade rare full plate mail to rare chaos armor | |||
lvl 8 : upgrade rare spear to rare lance | |||
lvl 10 : upgrade magic heavy gloves to magic war gauntlets | |||
lvl 11 : upgrade magic heavy boots to magic war boots | |||
lvl 12 : upgrade magic heavy belt to magic war belt | |||
lvl 13 : add magic amulet | |||
lvl 14 : add magic circlet | |||
lvl 16 : replace rare chaos armor with rare sacred armor | |||
lvl 17 : replace rare lance with rare war pike | |||
lvl 19 : upgrade magic war gauntlets to rare crusader gauntlets | |||
lvl 21 : upgrade magic war boots to rare mirrored boots | |||
lvl 23 : upgrade magic war belt to rare colussus girdle | |||
lvl 25 : upgrade magic amulet to rare amulet | |||
lvl 27 : upgrade magic circlet to rare tiara | |||
These changes are, of course, cumulative - most amazons choose one of four options. Use no valkyrie, invest one point in it, get it to level 17 after bonus skills, or max it. Each choice has it's benefits and downfalls; Not getting a valkyrie leaves you with one less meat sheild, while getting one point into it gives you a relatively weak one. Getting your valkyrie up to level 17 provides you with one that is packing potentially awesome armor and weapon, while maxing it ensures she has rare gear in every slot except rings, and lots of hit points. | |||
One last advantage of a valkyrie is that she can become immune to elemental attacks. After adding up her resistance bonuses from valkyrie and decoy, if she spawns gear that gives her resistances, they add to that base. If this total goes above 100% resistance, she will be immune to that element. | |||
==Pierce== | ==Pierce== | ||