ANB Build: Furious Flaming Axes

[Wulfric]

Well done. You got a lot further than I did on my first ANB

[TheExorcist]

It would be great if this "ANB furious flaming axes build/guide by Nhat always be/stick on top of warrior build section .We find it Difficult to scroll down from time time and search for this topic
many thanks

[Travis | Support Mgr.]

Done.

[TheExorcist]

Thank you headmaster

[davidz]

I suggest to have 2 fury ASAP if no Lily. No need to upgrade the fury until later.

[Brahavan]

Great Guide, Thanks

One query:
As it is so Whirlwind centric, why no Nature Damage bonus on any equipment?

Wouldn't a balance of Nature and Physical help?

Maybe one of Stats/Analyse gurus could examine/explain.....

Really nice friendly community here and I love the game.

[Ozymandius]

All of the Fury Warrior's primary attacks are Physical Damage [Cleave & Frenzy] along with Charge and Leap. Only WW Tornadoes are Nature Damage. I don't have the statistics, but my sense is that it is better to go "all in" on one type of damage to get the biggest boost instead of trying to "balance" different types of damage.

[Nhat]

I would actually argue that the build is Storm of Swords centric, at least it is for me... Whirlwind & Tornadoes help to pull mobs and add extra damage, but I mainly wipe them out with SoS - which is also Physical.

[Kardinaal]

Like Ozy said, you can either boost the 5 or so tornadoes every 5 seconds, or your basic cleave attack that you do 30-40 times in the same period.

for the same reasons people use cleave bom instead of a bom that boosts a casted skill. You just do way more cleaves than any other attack.

To be frank, warriors just don’t have any decent finisher type skill that does tons of damage (unless you count shockwave but it’s not very popular due to very slow cast times).

[Kardinaal]

And even with a shockwave build you would be better with a boost to rending slash as shockwave boosting stuff doesn’t boost the bleed part, and that’s where the damage is.

[Brahavan]

Wow - I'm in Eternium College

Thanks, Guys
Really appreciate it.

---

So then,
All physical &, when possible, a Cleave Bracer
NOT Leap or anything 'big and grand'
Logic being lots of regular attacks do more damage than than one grand one every 10-30 seconds, yeah?

---

BTW, talking bracers, just met a mage in arena with a Level 100 bracer!
Is that a special quest reward or an amazing in-game find or what?
I WANT a Level 100 Cleave Bracer or a 100 Bladestorm Axe.
That would kick ass.

Still, Isn't Level 77 the crafting max? (which has still never happened for me either ).

Where do you find the 100s?
(wish there was a drool emoji a la Homer Simpson)

[Wulfric]

You don't get L100 gear without cheating/hacking both of which get you banned. Email help@makingfun.com and report them. It means one less cheater which makes it better for the rest of us.

[Brahavan]

Hmmm,

Well I'm not sure I'm that comfortable turning informant ;-)

Especially, if I don't know, for sure, someone has done anything wrong.
Also as a pretty new member of what seems a friendly and long-established community I'd be inclined to not start slinging the monkey-kak about till I know better what's what

So, first things first. Can I get confirmation from Travis/Making Fun and the forum's Tribal Elders that simple possession of a Level 100 Bracer does constitute undeniable evidence of cheating?

Is there no way that person could have been awarded such a bracer, found it, received as a special promotional bonus, grand-fathered it in from an old/beta version of the game, bought it from Making Fun using real US$ etc?

If someone from the company tells me that

A) Yes that person is definitely cheating
+
B) They want me to cough up the name.

Then, I guess, I will
---

No offense meant, but the whole situation seems a little absurd.

I mean if people even want to cheat at an online Wizards game!!! (there's no money, political power or sexual access at stake - the usual motivators for the corrupt) then it seems like a pretty dumb way to do it. A level 100 item on a 1-77 system.

I mean, I noticed because I was tired of having my arse kicked by off-screen characters in the arena (or automatically losing due to Steam crash after crash - 1 in 6 fights lost that way, not cool ) and started looking at average item level and character level of potential opponents.
Well, this Mage had an average item level of 80 which I'd never seen before. That led me to click on their stuff and there was a Level 100 bracer. That's pretty damn flagrant isn't it? If the TOP possible level item in a game is 77 and everyone's average item level appears right under their name then having an average of 80 would suggest to even the mathematically impaired, like myself, that something's rotten in Denmark, surely?

Not only is it very obvious to the human eye but it must also be an absolute breeze for Making Fun to fix, right?

First, I love that the game is playable offline. That's actually how I got addicted to it. We had a three-day power cut and I had sod all else to do! Anyhow, as someone who has 100s of micro internet drops, crawls and breaks a DAY here in the Third-world, + at least 1 or 2 hours of power cuts a week, I would never want the game to lose its offline functionality. Long car trips and countries where the internet is inaccessible and expensive do still exist and I'm really appreciative that Making Fun takes us into account. Offline rocks and must be preserved. Still, I see how that means people can play silly sods with the code and no-one 'sees' them doing it.

Yet, that Mage was in the Arena - played by the Making Fun AI online against another human player (me)
IE. Visible to me, Making Fun & controlled by their Server!
Not offline and not subtle. Also, This hasnt been achieved some complicated tweaking of algorithms or strike rates etc that might be hard to detect. Someone has, apparently, made up an item that cannot, and does not, exist in the game. That has to be about the simplest cheat to block, no?

Computers are very good and very fast at implementing numeric rules. If a field value can only be 1-77 then, by definition, anyone that logs into the server with an item of Level 100, 3000,000 or even 78 is invalid. Do not allow them to connect. Done.

A character can only have about 10-16 equipped items in total, right, so it's a flash of a Nano second to check nothing is above 77. I'm not a computer programmer but I remember writing out code more complex that at school, aged 10, on Green on Black text machines that flickered! If X > 77 THEN STOP, PRINT "ERROR" ;-)
I think that's got to be a simple job to implement, no?

A server gate like that would also be pleasantly non-confrontational.

Once people have invested 100s of hours and maybe real $ into a game they are going to be mighty pissed if the company arbitrarily bans them or kills their character etc with no appeal.

They might kick up a hell of a stink online etc, so I can see why Making Fun wouldn't want to do that. Meanwhile, simply checking when a character touches the server avoids all that.

I mean, if people are silly enough to want to make an
"Impossible Egg Spoon of Terror" Level 99999, +8000 Fire Damage and then run their Mage buck-naked at The Broken Dragon on Trial Level 921.....let them have their little thrills offline .

But, the minute they touch the server it's "No, Sorry. Impossible Item. No Entry. Offline play only"
They can have their 'fun' (?) and we aren't affected.

Does that make sense?

[Travis | Support Mgr.]

The maximum level is 77 for gear and 70 for jewelry. Anyone with anything higher than that is a cheater that will be banned when reported.

[Nhat]

A fair number of automated checks have been added to the Trials leaderboard over the years, including skills & items level checks - man, the things that we saw over the years... For whatever reason, those same checks are not currently applied to the Arena's leaderboard - should be relatively simple, the codes are already there... Maybe it's a trap to see what sort of things desperate people will do to "be on top"...

[Brahavan]

Travis - How can I see a couple of days back in my Arena History?

I assumed it would be there e but when I looked just now I get only the last 12 or so fights.

There is, most definitely, a Mage out there with a Lvl 100 Bracer and an Average Item Level of 80 who fought and eat me in the arena recently.

What about my idea of a 'server gate' solution?
Surely, the minute any profile enters the online game it functionally must have all its data read to use. So, at that point, if any stat is higher than its possible value just stop the login right there. Is that not possible? I mean the Level of the item being above the possible is so 'top line', basic and obvious it seems like it'd be very easy for a computer to spot.

No offense meant if I'm misunderstanding but that sort of thing seems like it would be a snap to automate. As to those legacy tainted accounts hanging around on the server records but never logging in anymore, then wouldn't a simple database search of all item level values stored in the server for anything over 77 immediately give you a list of cheaters within a matter of minutes at most?

The issue doesn't actually bother me hugely, if other people want to play silly buggers, but I seem to have sparked off a conversation by wondering how someone gets a LVL 100 Bracer. Ooops

Thanks.

[Brahavan]

For my part, I'd more keen to know why I lose 1 in 6 arena fights due to Steam crashes.


It always happens as I'm running across the screen, just about to pass under the edge of the centre circle, about 1.5-2 seconds into the fight. Can a crash, if they cant be fixed and stopped, at least be treated as a draw and my fight ticket returned?

[Brahavan]

TOPIC: Swapping out The Fire Lily for a Talisman of Storms (+500% Damage vs Critical Hits) in ANB & Otherwise - Timing & Related Changes

Nooooo!

I just screwed up following Nhat's superb instructions here.

Hopefully, I made a mistake that might

1) Be informative to others

2) Turn out not to be such a disaster for me in the final hours of this Gold ANB (Dec 2021)

The error was, having very carefully double-checked that I had all the attributes Nhat specifies selected, I hit craft on my Legendary Fire Lily Level 70. Only at that moment did I realized I was working on mental Brahavan/Normal Play default. I'd selected not Fire Lily but Talisman of Storms. Doh!

So now I've burnt through almost all my crafting materials to produce a Talisman of Storms seemingly useless to my ANB Fire Lily, Nhat-A-Like Warrior

So be careful not to do that everybody!

Now I have it, however, it raises the question of when a warrior (in ANB or otherwise) should consider switching out from a 6 Fury, Fire Lily, No Critical Damage build as specified in this guide towards a more Critical Hit/Damage Model

Sadly, I think the combination of my limited playing skills and this being a 6-hour Gold ANB (the shortest playtime version) I'm not going to have much call to be pushing for the leader-board.

Still, others might be better positioned to do so and, on my part, I made the damn thing and cannot salvage any materials back in an ANB so......
At what Championship Points or Trial Level does the swapping out Fire Lily for T of Storms become a smart move?

If a person makes that change then what other changes to equipment etc are sensible ones to reinforce and strengthen that new build, approach & play style?

[davidz]

6 fury lily for xp farming, 2f4w for push. I made a stupid mistake in this gold anb by completely forgetting using a lily… You need at least a couple of hours for pushing, and all other time is for xp farming at 70, 90 and mostly 105. Xp farming also gives good drops, books and essence etc.

[Vedova]

Thanks for this guide! I have learned a lot from it. I am now trying to figure out what to do with CTs

[Brahavan]

Thank you, Nhat

I got my two CTs and even made the Top 100 leader-board
(unless there is a 20 place surge in the next hour - 17:07: there was a surge but I held on to end @ #91). That was a very pleasant, if hand-cramping surprise. I assumed in Veterans league this time, not so many gems and only a 6 hour Gold I'd not get that far.

So, three cheers for Nhat. I (we all, I'm sure) Really appreciate it

I made a kind of half-hearted, ad-hoc & late attempt at a 'Push Build' and ended up with 4 Fury & 2 Warlord.

I'd still really appreciate some more in depth discussion on how and when
(what Trial Level, How many Championship Points you have, Time to End of ANB etc)
to start making a push gear or whether to stick with 6 Fury Fire Lily to the bitter end.

PS. Had a panicky final day/night, as bang on schedule the damn power (which always goes on/off/on/off) went out in a big bright blue crackle (like arcane bolts for real ) outside the window and left me screwed for a big chunk of Sunday. I'd mentally set that aside to be my intensive finish up period so was even more displeased than I'm usually when the power goes.

Ropey electrcis adds a whole new element to the ANB fun
- anyone else playing from places where power/internet is not a 24-hour given?

Thank you to Making Fun for providing a quality game that can be played offline when the lights go out / on the road.

Thumbs up


Oh yeah, before the counter runs out on this ANB.
Wrapping up for those of us following Nhat's guide here:

Finishing tidy up

1) Am I right that we get to keep the celestial item(S) but also get duplicate celestial transforms to use on other items back in normal play? If so, is there ever a reason to re-apply to CT to the same item? (Any benefit)

2) Can my main warrior (Brahavan) use the Celestial Items I made and used in the ANB with Tynaxus (my ANB warrior)?
The items say they are bound to Tynaxus - will that still be the case after the ANB?
What if I delete Tynaxus, what happens then?

3) If I don't have the gems available today to keep my ANB Character
then how long can I wait to accumulate those gems (5 days of dailies would definitely provide that but can I wait)?

4) Do ONLY the items actually marked as Ephemeral disappear and EVERYTHING else get mailed to my main account? I am hoping that everything not explicitly marked as Ephemeral is safe and will transfer over but a bit nervous, over-caffeinated and punch-drunk tired from ending ANB so to be sure - I know most of it does (I've done 1 ANB) but I just want to be sure - Essences, Materials, Gems, Gemstones, Gold, ITEMS FOUND DROPPED in play (armor, weapons etc)?

To be sure of keeping stuff where should I put it - in the ANB Stash?
In the Tynaxius's personal inventory?
Worn on the character?
Or is it all safe wherever it is?

5) Anything I've forgotten to ask about that would be sensible use of remaining ANB time?
(and any advice for other people who still have actual playtime left, which I don't)

[Wulfric]

1) Yes. You get the vitality boost back (I think, might be wrong)
2) Items are available for your non anb toons to use. Caution. Once CT'd in main, they are then bound permanently to that toon. CT cannot be undone except by salvaging the item.
3) Gold toon needs to be added to the main account before next gold comes around. If not then the new Gold toon overwrites the old gold toon. Again I might have picked this up wrong.
4) ANB stash is best for items. Make sure you unsocket gemstones first. Then sell your ephermals for gold. If uncertain. Make a list then check it once the stuff is in your main account inbox.
5) Event is over. You can't play any trials or story levels with the ANB toon until it is added to your main account. Any crafting you do with ANB toon will now be at full cost. Ouch.

[Brahavan]

Thanks Wulfric