Skyrim Character Building » Discussions


Character Build: The Purifier

  • Member
    January 4, 2014

    Another excellent build, Zach!

    The backstory/roleplay, and the gear selection, fit the gameplay much better than the DB concept. This is a really cool concept, and the art and gameplay complement it perfectly. A common trend I've found is that it's really difficult to get away from speedy/agile characters once you've done one. It's such an engaging play style. Tactical and methodic pure stealth can be enjoyable, but there's nothing like diving and dodging your way through a Dwemer dungeon in 10 minutes, when a classic stealth build would need 45+.

    I also like the limitation of only using single effect potions to balance out the two crafting skills. And just using Smithing in general was a cool move for this build; it would have been very easy to fall back on Enchanting instead, but that would've made it less interesting and original.

    Couple quick things:

    I'm fairly certain the Bullseye perk is actually an invisible projectile spell. With that in mind, it won't stack additively with a Paralysis enchantment. Rather, there will be two separate dice rolls — one roll for Bullseye, and one for the Paralysis enchant. Also, according to UESP, the Bullseye projectile actually moves more slowly than an arrow, meaning that an enemy who gets hit by the arrow can actually move out of the way before Bullseye hits him, so the "effective chance" is even lower than 14%. But even assuming the projectile hits every time, you're looking at:

    • Bullseye hits, Enchant misses » 14% * 74 = 10.36%

    • Bullseye misses, Enchant hits » 86% * 26 = 22.36%

    • Both hit » 14% * 26 = 3.64%

    • Neither hits » 86% * 74 = 63.64%

    • Actual chance to paralyze is 36.36%, and that's assuming Bullseye always hits, which in practice, it probably won't. So your effective chance to paralyze is probably more like 35%. Not a *huge* difference, but worth noting, IMO.

    In any case, I'm pretty sure Paralysis poisons have a 100% chance to proc, so you're probably better off taking that route anyway. Especially if combined with a lingering health damage effect. Plus, then you could put Absorb Stamina on your bow, to keep up Ranger/Steady Hand even longer in drawn out battles!

    Also, Nord Hero Bows are probably a better option than Hunting Bows. They have the same weight and draw speed, but +4 base damage. Plus, IMO, they look better, especially with the gear you're using. They used to be bugged and untemperable, but patch 1.9 fixed that.

    Also, for Velocity Shift, you can throw a Fortify Alteration potion on there as well, for increased Slow Time duration. With that in mind, is Alteration really even necessary to the build? I mean, with the Atronach perk, you're pushing Spell Absorption to 80% (100% if you drink a Philter of the Healer before picking up the stone) but even 50% Absorption and a bit of resistance from other passives such as worn gear and/or Agent of Mara should be plenty of magic defense. You don't really need the extra duration from paralysis or slow time via Stability (though I suppose it is helpful). All in all though, it just seems like a slight comfort rather than anything truly fundamental to the build. I guess that's not really a bad thing though, to be fair.

    With Stability, it might be worth it to push the Paralysis enchant to 2 seconds. I think then you get the Stability 50% to kick in for a free extra second. Not really necessary I guess, but useful. Which seems to be the role of Alteration here in the first place. On the other hand, I think Stability still adds a "hidden" 0.5 seconds to the 1pt paralysis enchantment, so could be a wash.

    Phew, all that out of the way, I just want to reiterate that this is a really awesome build. My rambling here is just a couple of VERY minor constructive quibbles, and in no way is any of this meant to be seen as a negative response to this. In fact, it might be my favorite of yours! Well done, Zach, as always!

  • Member
    January 4, 2014

    Thanks, man, and now for to your points:

    • You are right on Bullseye being a projectile. However, it keeps in line with the arrow shot, so if the arrow hits, bullseye works. That is at least how it seemed to me. Also, the arc of a hunting bow is very significant, making arrows take longer to hit the target. That would make the arrow and the projectile more in line. I am more comfortable with keeping with saying 40% because we are not fully sure on this stuff. It is essentially the same percent in big picture though. Every two shots has a high chance to paralyze, and every three is *guaranteed* to paralyze (statistically, and in actually playing generally how it worked). My play testing supports bullseye travelling with the arrow (due to the arc possible. It also could be that a lot of the archery was in very close quarters, or the enemy was running towards me in a straight line most of the time).
    • Paralysis poisons are 100% proc (except for enemies with resistances, which are a lot :/). I did mention using them, but I only really needed them for really tough enemies. It is all about the *tool-belt* of tactics and synergies to draw from for every situation.
    • I did not realize that about Nord Hero bows. I will add a note about that later I guess. I will stick with hunting bows as a main because it is different, using a super *weak* bow, but making it work.
    • I took alteration for more of a physical defense boost. I under estimated smithing. Overall it was nice to have providing a lot of advantages. Faster leveling, boosted physical and magical defense, more charges in my paralysis bow, stability, the list goes on.
    • I dislike doing quests like *Agent of Mara* in general. If it does not fit my RP, and if I do not NEED the item/reward/ability/etc, I prefer to not go through those *grinds*.
    • I forgot about fortify alteration with slow time, I will edit that too (later... I am tired atm )

    Thanks for the feedback man. 

  • Member
    January 4, 2014

    I actually held a lot of the same sentiments, Teccam. At the end of the day, it's still a great build and it's obvious you put a lot of work into the gameplay, roleplay, write up, and presentation, and that deserves a +1 anyday :)

    Teccam's statistics are spot on though, and while it's only about a 5% difference, some people are sticklers for accuracy (Ponty/myself/Teccam apparently).

  • Member
    January 4, 2014

    I made the edits, turns out I was too lazy to be lazy :). 

  • Member
    January 4, 2014

    Haha not sure how that works but I'm really glad you're getting back into CBing. It was starting to get stale around here but this past week has seen some really great builds. Just when I think I'm taking a break, someone posts a build that inspires me to try something new.

    Hope to see more from you soon! 

  • Member
    January 4, 2014

    I later learned (Teccam again) that Nord Herp bows have the same draw speed as hunting bows, but have superior damage. If you want to go for a Nord Hero bow, go ahead, but it is not needed.

    Herp Derp Bows? Nord Herpes Bows? Truly, we shall never know what was actually meant by this typo

    In all seriousness, with regards to what Teccam said, I think it would be worthwhile to drop Alteration from the build. You can use Alteration potions to the same effect as Mason's Bronze Sentinel to get 90% Spell Absorption, maybe even more since you're using Alchemy as a skill. Dropping Alteration would also mean that you wouldn't need magicka and therefore could solely focus on health. You'd also have some extra perk points to spend on things. For example, you could spend one more perk to get Daedric Smithing to double the improvement on Krosis.

  • Member
    January 4, 2014

    Everyone has a Clap Bow...

  • Member
    January 4, 2014

    He must be using Alchemy to poison it with more STDs then.

  • Member
    January 4, 2014

    +1 loved the combat speed of the build.

    But 1 question: Why you didn't took zephyr + quick shot + necromage? Fastest shooting speed in the game.

    Together with poisons (to counter the fact that the bow cannot be enchanted) would be a machine gun -_-

  • Member
    January 4, 2014
    Zephyr is equally as fast as the hunting bow I believe, but as for Necromage Zach would be the best person to answer that. It doesn't really looks like he needs it, judging by the speed he was firing arrows in the video.