Originally posted by poopie_pants on Feb 23, 2010:
Patriarch Foba_Bett (Themed Ranger)
"He didn't socialize. He rarely spoke. None of his bounties ever saw his face."
Foba Bett always lived a life of seclusion, lurking in the shadows of the rest of society. Son to Fango Bett, a paid mercenary, Foba grew up under the tutelage of his father, listening to his advice, learning his skill, always aspiring to one day take up his trade. But Foba was met with tragedy early in his life, as the person he looked up to the most was struck down in combat by the same person he was hired to kill. Fango's death created a huge void in his son's life; one that Foba would spend the rest of his life trying to fill.
Utilizing the bounty accumulated by his father to survive, and out casted from the rest of his peers, Foba spent the rest of his childhood and adolescence relentlessly training in the arts of weaponry, stealth, and deception.
Better to be feared than loved. Committed to not make the same mistake his father did, Foba ignored close quarter combat and instead mastered the use of his preferred weapon, the Crossbow.
Execute the target before they even know of your presence. After years of training, Foba's skills, and natural instincts, were superior to even his father's. Foba was determined to succeed where Fango did not...he was a natural born killer, and succeed he would.
Foba worked alone. He started seeking work late in his adolescence, at the young age of 17. His first "assignment" was the execution of a local townsman who had accumulated a debt he could not repay with the wrong individual. Killing came as natural to Foba as his first step. He did so without mercy and without regard to the stature, gender, race, or even age of his victims...so long as a hefty reward was awaiting him.
Foba's reputation soon spread, but always cloaked in the absence of facts. He negotiated his "assignments" in disguise so that his face could never be matched with his name. Deception was the greatest advantage Foba had on his victims...he was an enigma. But with secrecy came solitude. Bounty after bounty, Foba could not fill the emptiness that was created with the death of his father. But then a funny thing happened along the way. By chance, Foba was introduced to Olena, daughter of one of the individuals he "worked" for. Foba knew something was different about Olena...she possessed the same drive, aspirations, and emptiness in her life. Olena also possessed the same lethalness as Foba (knowing she was superior to others). Longing to rid herself of the dull life she lived, Olena joined Foba as his apprentice. Working together meant more difficult bounties, and greater rewards. It also resulted in something unexpected...for the first time since his father's death, Foba experienced friendship...love.
With the world they both knew in turmoil, and the existence of mankind hanging in the brink of extermination at the hands of the Prime Evils, Foba and Olena did not feel fear, but rather saw opportunity. The opportunity for their infamy to grow...the opportunity for riches beyond their imagination...the opportunity for Foba to continue his father's legacy.
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Foba Bett was themed after one of the most infamous characters in the Star Wars series, Boba Fett. I aimed to mirror Boba as best as possible -- everything from name and appearance down to skill set, attributes, equipment and even play style. Based on appearance (height, build, skin color) alone, I thought the Paladin was the ideal class choice, despite of course the vast contrast in character background. This worked out well since the Paladin class happens also to be a favorite of mine. Below is a screenshot of both Boba and Foba (decked out in his final gear set-up):
Boba Fett
Foba_Bett
Skills / Attributes:
Boba was known for his deadly accuracy with ranged weapons. As soon as I made the decision to go with the Paladin class, I knew what direction I was headed in terms of the skill distribution. This is a Ranger build, emphasizing on both physical and elemental damage, with fire being the choice on the latter. At clvl79, Foba's skills are assigned as follows:
• Fanaticism -- 20
• Holy Fire -- 20
• Resist Fire -- 20
• Salvation -- 13
• Resist Light -- 10 (for 80% light resist)
• Cleansing / Vigor -- 1 each
• Prereqs -- 5
With all of my damage being ranged, Dexterity was my primary attribute focus. Boba needed only as much strength to wear his armor, as he did not rely on hand-to-hand combat, and vitality is of no concern to a trained assassin (in hindsight, should have rethought this :whistling
. Final stats at clvl79 (base and with equipment):
• Strength -- 97 (102)
• Dexterity -- 273 (332)
• Vitality -- 105 (110)
• Energy -- base
Foba LCS
Equipment:
There are two things in my opinion that define who Boba is, and why he's so memorable in Star Wars lore -- his Mandalorian armor set, and his Blash Tech EE-3 Rifle. I knew both would be difficult to replicate (certainly the rifle, at least in appearance), so I spent a lot of time thinking about my options and taking into consideration both looks, stats and general feel for how it would represent Boba's persona. Here's what I came up with, along with a look at the rest of his gear:
Helm -- Darksight Basinet (personalized)
Closest looking in appearance in my opinion, great name in relation to character theme, and while not popularly used there are two very useful attributes that made this helm a no brainer -- Cannot be Frozen, and Cloak of Shadow charges, the latter of which was invaluable for game play in hell (see game play section below). Socketed with an Ort for LR.
Armor -- Smoke Russet Armor (personalized)
I was fairly certain from the beginning which runeword I was going to utilize for this character. The name Smoke fits well again with the theme, and the whopping 50% to all resists would be critical in Hell. I considered Treachery as well, but I did not need the IAS in order to reach the last breakpoint on both of my crossbows (see below), and none of the other attributes were that appealing. With Smoke decided, all that was left was picking the armor to put it into. After toiling back and forth on a few different armors, I decided that the Russet Armor fit the look the best. All of the others either looked like too little or too much armor in comparison to Boba's Mandalorian set.
Weapon (Main) -- Buriza (personalized)
I knew from the start I would be playing with crossbows instead of bows for this character, as they are much more representative (both in look and feel) of a EE-3 Rifle in my opinion. They are fired like a rifle, and deliver more of an impact which is what I was going for. With that decided, was there really any other option other than the Buriza? Great top-end damage (based on clvl), 100% pierce, freezes target, and a whopping 80%IAS allowing me to hit the last breakpoint when coupled with slvl20 Fanaticism. This was my primary weapon, and was always equipped with the Fanaticism aura. I Hel'd it in order to minimize the amount of points spent in strength.
Weapon (Switch) -- Demon Machine
Boba's missile launcher. This was my crowd control weapon, primarily because of the explosive bolts it delivered. I used this weapon (with Holy Fire aura) on groups of mobs as well as on PI's in Hell. Nice bonus to attack rating, defense and 66% pierce.
-Gloves -- Laying of Hands (350%ED to demons, fire resists, last bit of IAS needed for breakpoint on Demon Machine...enough said)
-Belt -- String of Ears (LL, damage reduction)
-Boots -- Goreriders (CB, OW, DS)
-Amulet -- Mara's (+2 for HF switch, but primarily used for resists)
-Rings -- Ravenfrost (for added dexterity, attack rating) and Rare (8%LL, +AR, 6% resists)
Code:
Foba_Bett's Darksight Helm
Basinet
'Ort'
Defense: 82
Durability: 29 of 30
Required Strength: 82
Required Level: 38
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 59
Fingerprint: 0xdc267f11
Fire Resist +31%
Lightning Resist +30%
5% Mana stolen per hit
-4 to Light Radius
Cannot Be Frozen
6% Chance to cast Level 3 Dim Vision when struck
Level 5 Cloak of Shadows (2/30 Charges)
+2 to Defense (Based on Character Level)
Socketed (1: 1 used)
Smoke
Foba_Bett's Russet Armor
'NefLum'
Defense: 400
Durability: 28 of 30
Required Strength: 97
Required Level: 37
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xed7a25e1
+10 to Energy
+75% Enhanced Defense
+280 Defense vs. Missile
All Resistances +50
-1 to Light Radius
20% Faster Hit Recovery
Level 6 Weaken (18/18 Charges)
Socketed (2: 2 used)
Foba_Bett's Buriza-Do Kyanon
Ballista
'Hel'
Two-Hand Damage: 97 to 163
Required Dexterity: 64
Required Strength: 88
Required Level: 41
Crossbow Class - Fastest Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xd9351337
+35 to Dexterity
+194% Enhanced Damage
+119 Defense
Adds 32-196 cold damage over 8 seconds
Requirements -20%
80% Increased Attack Speed
Freezes Target +3
Piercing Attack [100]
+2 to Maximum Damage (Based on Character Level)
Socketed (1: 1 used)
Demon Machine
Chu-Ko-Nu
Two-Hand Damage: 31 to 137
Required Dexterity: 95
Required Strength: 80
Required Level: 49
Crossbow Class - Fastest Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0xa290f0ad
+36 to Mana
+123% Enhanced Damage
+632 to Attack Rating
+66 to Maximum Damage
+321 Defense
Piercing Attack [66]
Fires Explosive Arrows
Laying of Hands
Bramble Mitts
Defense: 84
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 63
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x2a9426d3
+25 Defense
Fire Resist +50%
20% Increased Attack Speed
350% Damage to Demons
10% Chance to cast Level 3 Holy Bolt on striking
String of Ears
Demonhide Sash
Defense: 111
Durability: 21 of 22
Required Strength: 20
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0x364bb008
+177% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 13
Damage Reduced by 12%
8% Life stolen per hit
+10 Maximum Durability
Gore Rider
War Boots
Defense: 153
Durability: 33 of 34
Required Strength: 94
Required Level: 47
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xd511f05e
+20 to Maximum Stamina
+184% Enhanced Defense
+10 Maximum Durability
Requirements -25%
30% Faster Run/Walk
10% Chance of Open Wounds
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
Mara's Kaleidoscope
Amulet
Required Level: 67
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 96
Fingerprint: 0xf6725354
+5 to Strength
+5 to Energy
+5 to Dexterity
+5 to Vitality
All Resistances +27
+2 to All Skill Levels
Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0xea9dff55
+17 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
+178 to Attack Rating
Adds 15-45 cold damage over 4 seconds
20% Cold Absorb
Cannot Be Frozen
Beast Eye
Ring
Required Level: 65
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x30fee9f5
+55 to Mana
+113 to Attack Rating
All Resistances +6
8% Life stolen per hit
10% Faster Cast Rate
14% Chance to cast Level 5 Charged Bolt when struck
Merc (Olena's setup):
The Ying to Foba's Yang. I made the decision very early on that I would not use an Act II merc, despite the nice aura benefits I would have received. They simply didn't fit the theme of this build. I opted instead for an Act I rogue, one because she fit the storyline, and two because I've never attempted to Mat/Pat a character using one. Where Foba was built on slower but more powerful attacks, Olena was geared with one thing in mind...speed. She did not fail to impress and in fact carried the weight of this tag team in certain instances, particularly in Hell. If anything else, it was fun to see her fire off arrows at an alarming rate. And whenever she triggered Amp Damage, it resulted in a whole lot of win. Here was her final gear set-up:
-Bow -- Upped Witchwild String (IAS jewel/Amn)
-Helm -- Vamp Gaze (IAS/LR jewel)
-Armor -- Treachery Archon Plate
Code:
Witchwild String
Diamond Bow
'Amn'
Two-Hand Damage: 84 to 102
Required Dexterity: 132
Required Strength: 89
Required Level: 61
Bow Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xdffa3668
+155% Enhanced Damage
All Resistances +40
7% Life stolen per hit
Required Level +7
15% Increased Attack Speed
Fires Magic Arrows
2% Chance to cast Level 5 Amplify Damage on striking
1% Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level)
Socketed (2: 2 used)
Vampire Gaze
Grim Helm
Defense: 252
Durability: 40 of 40
Required Strength: 58
Required Level: 41
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xc166e239
+100% Enhanced Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 11
Damage Reduced by 15%
Lightning Resist +22%
Adds 6-22 cold damage over 4 seconds
7% Life stolen per hit
7% Mana stolen per hit
15% Increased Attack Speed
15% Slower Stamina Drain
Socketed (1: 1 used)
Treachery
Archon Plate
'ShaelThulLem'
Defense: 470
Durability: 54 of 60
Required Strength: 103
Required Level: 63
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x35a2d3f8
Cold Resist +30%
50% Extra Gold from Monsters
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels
45% Increased Attack Speed
20% Faster Hit Recovery
25% Chance to cast Level 15 Venom on striking
5% Chance to cast Level 15 Fade when struck
Socketed (3: 3 used)
Questing / Gameplay:
Players 8 for Normal / Nightmare, other than Ancients (p1). Hell was played entirely on players 1, and for good reason as I might have lost my insanity otherwise. As soon as a Crossbow became available to me in Normal, I used one from that point forward. My gear set-up in Normal consisted primarily of Ichorsting and then Hellcast, along with Sigon's boots/belt/gloves, Angelic rings/ammy/armor, and Duskdeep helm (for looks). Once I hit lvl 41, Buriza was equipped and later Demon Machine. I wore Griswold's Armor until I acquired the Russet Armor to make Smoke, and then eventually equipped the rest of my end-game gear once lvl's were met.
There were specific quests that I completed in each difficulty that fit in with the theme of the character, where with normal characters I may have skipped over. These included the Countess (with her very lucrative bounty), and Nihlatak (in order to personalize my Helm/Armor/XBow).
If there's one thing that stood out above all else in my long journey, it was the invaluableness of the Cloak of Shadows charges on my helm. It's one of those skills that you can't fully appreciate until you use it with a non-Assassin character. I would not have made it through Hell difficulty without those wonderful charges, period. And the charges were not that expensive to repair. In terms of game play, my typical attack approach went something along the lines of:
-When things went well, mow down enemies with barrage of bolts/arrows before they could attack (or at least get off a series of attacks). This was the case more often than not in Normal and NM.
-When things went not so well, cast CoS, then see above
-When things went terribly, scramble to cast CoS, fire off a bunch of bolts/arrows, hope not a lot is still breathing when the dust settles, cast CoS again (if necessary), then see above. There were plenty of these instances in Hell, particularly against faster moving packs of mobs, and ranged mobs (archers, gloams, etc).
-When things went very terribly, I died
-When facing PI's or groups of non-FI "soft" mobs, switch to Demon Machine and HF aura for quick work. I found myself using the Demon Machine more often in Hell than I originally thought, primarily because of the lack of AR when using the Buriza.
-When facing the Ancients, WSK Minions, and Prime Evils in Hell, I kited...a lot. Andy and Meph proved not as difficult as I thought. Duriel was a disaster (such a small space to run around, plus Holy Freeze). Diablo was challenging, but lots of area to move around in. I must have rerolled Ancients about 10 times before finally getting a favorable spawn. I managed to separate them by running around using Vigor. I really don't know how I got past this to be honest. WSK minions were not too bad, I cleared the entire area so I had a place to run back to for Lister's mob. As for Baal himself, I utilized a
"corner" strategy to minimize the damage of Baal's cold spell and the appendages.
Overall, this character was at times a lot of fun to play (particularly in Normal/NM) but at the same time very challenging and at times downright frustrating (particularly in Hell) given the restrictions I gave myself, especially equipment. The lack of shooting speed with a Crossbow, and overall lack of AR and life really reared its ugly head in Hell difficulty. On top of that, if I could not get CoS casted quick enough, this character could get overrun very easily. There came a point in Hell where I was acting in more of a support role for Olena as opposed to vice versa, casting CoS while she sniped everything, and hoping she would trigger Amp Damage. I suffered more deaths than I'd like to remember (probably 10-15 total), and could unfortunately not live up to Boba's reputation as much as I would have liked. Here are some screenshots of Foba and Olena along the way:
Foba & Olena outside of Rogue Encampment
Countess Bounty
Action Shot 1
Action Shot 2
Victory
Notable finds -- Pul/
Gul for NM/Hell forge (makes up for my Fishyzon), but other than that not much I'm afraid. I will almost certainly experiment with some better suited equipment to see how Foba performs. In terms of specific areas, there's always more bounty to collect from the Countess (rolled an unbelievable map for her too), and I think Foba would excel in the Maggot Lairs given the narrow lines of sight. Up next -- I have a Sept theme centered around a particular RW that I've been pondering about for some time now, and I think it's time to give it a go. Thanks for anyone who took the time to read...hope you enjoyed
.
-PP