Question about AB

[Teaboar]

How high should the AB of a hips character be to consistently hit epic mobs? I've been planning some monk builds, and I'm thinking about adding combat expertise to the build. Problem is that the AB of the build isn't very high to begin with, so I don't know if that would actually be viable.

[izzul]

unbuffed 39-45.

buffed 42-50++

[Hoihe]

I have 36 AB "unbuffed" and 38 "buffed" on a non-HIPS heavy PC.

I do just fine, my first 4 attacks usually hit without issue, 5th tends to miss.

[chad878262]

33 is the minimum buffed attack bonus you want if you're always attacking out of hips. Again it's the MINIMUM. You should really shoot for about 36 to land your full first flurry...

However, you're a monk so you're not only concerned with the first flurry like sneak attack builds, this I would advise aiming for about 40 of possible.

[electric mayhem]

Noted the comment of Combat Expertise and Monk mentioned in same line. Combat Expertise does not work at the same time as Flurry of Blows, if you were thinking of using it them both.
But if you are taking CE purely for ability to open up Int damage from Combat Insight in the epics, then should be sweet.

And yeh, can confirm, a HIPser does fine in epics with (weap, no spells) buffed 36 AB. remember, one human's "buffed", does not equate to another humans "buffed". Not all "buffed" are treated equally.

[Teaboar]

Thank you for the replies everyone. That certainly clears things up. I'm also curious about attribute distribution. Am I better off leaving attribute at even or uneven numbers? I know that +4 attribute items exist, but I don't really know if they are realistic to get for a casual player and so I'm thinking that maybe uneven numbers are better for the most part. Is that correct? Or should I always be using +4 buffs at higher levels?

[Wyatt]

+3 str/con Is relatively cheap and accessible on a single item. I do not think there are are any +4 con or str items for sale. The +4 items are very pricey in comparison.

[Teaboar]

+3 str/con Is relatively cheap and accessible on a single item. I do not think there are are any +4 con or str items for sale. The +4 items are very pricey in comparison.

That's good to know, thank you. How about buffs? Are +4 attribute buff items easily accessible and commonly used? (EDIT: Just to clarify, I mean items that can be used to cast buffs) I'm just wondering if I should take those into account when choosing attributes.

[Wyatt]

There are plenty of scrolls and a few items but they are short term and easily dispelled. Now if you have a regular party and someone to cast full caster level buffs on you then you're golden. I typically do not plan on relying on buffs unless I am building a caster (which is never.) Short term buffs only from wands etc. That is just my preference though.

[Theodore01]

+4 STR gauntlets are in the EDE Store (Misty -Forest) now - but very pricey.

[Teaboar]

There are plenty of scrolls and a few items but they are short term and easily dispelled. Now if you have a regular party and someone to cast full caster level buffs on you then you're golden. I typically do not plan on relying on buffs unless I am building a caster (which is never.) Short term buffs only from wands etc. That is just my preference though.

Okay cool, thanks for the info. I have a couple of completely unrelated questions, but I'll ask them here anyway. How high should my spell resistance be to still be useful versus epic mobs? Secondly, how high should my UMD skill be when it's not a class skill? Should I just put the maximum 16 points in it?

[Blackman D]

Umd needs to be 10 for wands, 11-12 for items (class restricted) and after that pretty much needs to be maxed for scrolls which if its cross class you cant even do

so whatever item emulation is, i think its only 11, but ranks dont matter, cha counts towards it also so you just need the total points

[Teaboar]

Umd needs to be 10 for wands, 11-12 for items (class restricted) and after that pretty much needs to be maxed for scrolls which if its cross class you cant even do

so whatever item emulation is, i think its only 11, but ranks dont matter, cha counts towards it also so you just need the total points

Oh cool, then I can spend the last few point on something more useful. Thanks for the info. Oh and how about SR? Is 31 enough against most epic mobs?

[electric mayhem]

Depends entirely upon what the epic mobs are casting, and there is a huge variety on the server. But wearing a 32 SR cloak gets ya by fairly well across much of the server. SR is the least of your worries in some of the 'hairier' epic content.