Combat Gear/Etc Q's

[taco21]

Hi there, I have some combat-related questions:

 

1. I right now have T70 GWD armor, but I am wondering if the difference between T70 and T80 is a huge difference. I'm a bit sad that T80 armor degrades, but of course, I'd make more profit over that degrade time. However, for the purposes of slayer/some bossing (I don't boss that much), would it instead be better to forgo T80 armor and jump straight to T85 tank PoP armor? (What is T85 PoP armor generally used for?) 

 

2. How do combat bonuses factor into damage? Ex. Armadyl boots give 11 range bonus, so would that be 11 bonus flat damage? Does armor rating work similarly? - 64 vs 104 armor would be a 64 vs 104 damage reduction? (I notice that people like to use T85 glacor boots, but those don't seem to offer any combat bonuses) Similarly, I have the T85 gloves from dominion tower - are they worth using? 

 

3. I've read that the shatter storm ability from Mazcab raids is a nice ability to have, and as such, does anyone know whether it would be better (in your opinion) to just suck it up and learn how to raid for the other drops or should I just flat out buy the ability codex? Are any of the other 3 abilities worth it? 

 

4. I'm currently deciding between noxious longbow vs. ascension crossbows, and from what I understand, nox is great for range and aa's vs. ascensions for slightly higher dps, but is there any general winner in terms of price/slayer/learning to boss, or is it just personal preference (what's yours)?

 

5. For general necklace/ring purposes, would it just be the hydrix amulet/ring (I think it's the soul reaper amulet and the ring of death or something) as the best for their respective slots for bossing purposes, or would it be say ring of asylum or ring of vigour for their abilities? 

 

6. Are seismics worth the price, or are they just overpriced? :S (Or in other words, is dual mage that much better than 2h?)

 

7. For those who used to be terrible at PvM bossing, would you say that learning how to solo bosses such as Nex,Corp, KK, Araxxor, etc. not as bad as you thought? Are all boss locations easy to return to within 2.5 min, should you die? 

 

8. Is there any use for the amulet of zealots (minus 5 prayer bonus, but increases single stat prayers)? (Aren't turm, anguish, torment better?)

 

Thank you once again! I really, really appreciate this! :D

[Arceus]

1. You can probably get away with T70 armor most of the time, aside from some of the tougher Slayer tasks (like the ones released last month). Even for bossing it's okay for most things you can solo. It may not be completely efficient, but it should be doable. Do note that the overall upkeep cost of T80 armor is something like 200K/hr (assuming you don't die) and it will help speed up kills slightly, so it's not too bad. You can also (repair and) resell the T80 armor when you're done, so you're not really sacrificing anything. Unless Invention causes some sort of price crash.

 

2. Combat boosts are a bit complicated but yes, it adds 11 on to your base damage. That number shown in the loadout screen is then the basis for everything else with modifiers like ability damage. Armor rating has to do with hit chance - an increased armor rating means a better chance that an enemy's attack will splash on you. Glacor boots feature the highest armor stat of nondegradable footwear, and since it's a one-off thing, people tend to upgrade. If you don't need more defense, armadyl would be a better choice on that particular task.

 

3. Not sure, not really ready for raids myself but I heard trying to find a team is a pain and you end up paying rather than making money on loot. I haven't bought/used Shatter Storm but Corruption Shot and Blast are well worth it, especially for training and farming Slayer mobs. Presumably you have adrenaline potions right?

 

4. I guess that's up for debate, the main differences being Dazing Shot vs Needle Strike. If you're fighting a GWD mob or something else with minions, the chain abilities might make Incendiary Shot a possibility, though Death's Swiftness is generally a better ultimate anyway.

 

5. Ring of vigour can be used as a swap. Put it on, use your ultimate ability, and switch back as soon as possible. The ring of death could good if you're learning a new (difficult) boss and feel getting back to your grave in time is a risk, or if you want to conserve your familiar's time/supplies. The amulet of souls/reaper necklace is kind of debatable based on whether you want to block more damage or increase accuracy. They should perform better than a blood necklace at anything immune to reflect damage.

 

6. No, I don't think so, at least in most cases solo. In fact, dual wield gives concentrated blast which can be used to increase accuracy on your next attack. The main virtue of wand  and sing is that the off-hand can be swapped out quickly for a shield to defend against an attack, put up Devotion or a longer Debilitate, etc.

 

7. Well, I haven't had too much trouble so far but I have not tried most of those aside from Corp, which wasn't too bad. It consumed a lot of food though! In terms of posthumous return trips...

 

Corp: Yep, but you have to run inside the lair to your grave and reclaim. It is doable but you should bring food and put on prayer when running back in. Make sure you have a stack of games necklaces.

Nex: Not sure how mechanics work but if you have the GWD teleport and the key, it should be a simple matter? You would have to check it out though.

Araxxor: Similar story, I think Ectophial -> Run west.

KK: Easy, just teleport to bandit camp lodestone and run into the hive. Bring a house teletab since you'll get swarmed by lower level kalphites, or dodge out the tunnel to the left.

 

Signs of respite can extend your gravestone timer. Keep them in your bank and wield upon dying if you need to give yourself extra time.

 

8. Very limited use I think. The 95 curses give +10% damage and drain the opponent's stats. I'm not completely sure what it stacks on top of, but a leech is +6% increasing to 12%, so with the amulet it would be either +16% or +22%. If you can stack Void on top of that, it would probably be worthwhile. One example I can think of is celestial dragons, since you take zero damage from them with a super-antifire up and staying out of range.

 

By the way duo corp is much easier than solo (since the damage is split), so if you want to go sometime I can take you. For corp a chaotic spear is highly preferable. Hopefully some of that was enlightening :).

[Wkw]

1. power armor sets give 10% damage for their level. So the t70 power armor gives you 10% the damage of a t70 weapon, nex armor give 10% of a t80 weapon, and whatnot... It is not 10% per item, but 10% total with head, body, legs, gloves, boots

2. Flat damage boost. Arma boots will make you do a flat 11 more damage.
Armor rating is weird.. it does not equal soak/damage reduction.  Just know that the combat triangle is heavly enforced. Glacor boots are tank boost, so only provide defense and no damage. Good def against your strong style, a little against your same style, and negligible vs our weak style

3. learn to raid. The most useful abilities are corruption shot/blast, then onslaught, and finally shards/shadder are the least useful in my opinion

4. The very tiny damage boost ascensions is less than 1%. I prefer nox, but it does cost more.

5. Amulet of souls is BIC, but it also costs 35m that you can never re-sell. If you are on a budget, just use dragonrider. Ring of death isnt all that great, and surgeons and vigour switch is better

6. Overpriced. Staff is better against things you do not have 100% accuracy with, but you need duel weild to use a shield

7. Yes.. but do note that if you die with degradables and reclaim from your grave, they will always degrade by 10/20%. Buying back from death is best if you have a lot of degradables

8. Only if you have 100% accuracy. Against most bosses, just using the lvl 95 prayers is better
 

[taco21]

Thank you, guys! I'll certainly incorporate your answers into my gameplay! 

[taco21]

Hiya again,

 

Sorry to necro this, but for general bossing/PvM/slayer, would deathtouch bracelet vs. nex gloves vs. t85 automaton gloves be best? Similarly, would nex boots or t85 glacor boots be best?

 

Thanks! 

[Saradomin_Mage]

for slayer you could just use gwd boots/gloves, bossing use deathtouch