Hey! With this HUGE collection of builds, I am hoping to recieve premium access to Tault's collection of exploits
Check the builds out, and try them. They are all coming from one of the BEST running guilds in the entire game (I'm currently in the training part of the guild, and this is what I've been taught so far.)
Equipment
Armor
I recommend gladiator armor with one piece of either Ascalon or Knights armor for the 2
universal points of damage reduction that provides. Some people prefer boots of
Ascalon/Knights as the armor level itself on that variety of armor is not as good. I personally use
a gladiator top with collector armor for the looks, which I prefer even though they do not provide
quite as much energy, and an Ascalon helm for the damage reduction and looks. Use Superior
Absorption and Vigor runes and minor strength, tactics, and swordsmanship.
Swords
Use two swords. For fighting I use a vampiric (3:1) sword of defense (+5) with 15% additional
damage when enchanted. I will call this the ʺvamp swordʺ or ʺv‐sword.ʺ For running I use a
sundering (10/10) sword of fortitude (+30) with 15% additional damage when health is above
50%. I will call this the ʺfort swordʺ or ʺf‐sword.ʺ Your v‐sword should be exactly as described
above, but your f‐sword does not need to be as expensive as the one I use. Really, the f‐sword is a
status symbol to build confidence with customers, and is almost never used for fighting (just for
killing things when you get body blocked in a lag spike, and even then you could switch to the vsword),
so the ONLY mod that matters is the fortitude bonus, which should be as high as you can
afford. The v‐sword should be one you are willing to customize for the extra damage, but you do
not need to customize the f‐sword. The f‐sword SHOULD NOT have any penalties, like health
degeneration from a vampiric hilt or ‐5 energy. In theory, the best sword to use for running
would probably be the +5 energy sword (that used to be craftable in Henge of Denravi) with a +30
fortitude pommel.
Shields
Use two shields. For fighting and some running I use a shield ‐2 damage when enchanted and
+45 health when enchanted. I will call this the ʺenchanted shieldʺ or ʺe‐shield.ʺ Your e‐shield
needs to have ‐2 damage when enchanted, but if you cannot afford one that also has a significant
health bonus, thatʹs okay. One good option is the green shield Malinonʹs Shield. For other
running I use a shield that is ‐2 damage in a stance and ‐3 damage hexed. I will call this the
ʺstance shieldʺ or ʺs‐shield.ʺ Your s‐shield can be the same as your e‐shield if you have a ‐2e/‐2s
shield, or you can use the crimson carapace collector’s shield as an excellent and affordable sshield.
Use the s‐shield on runs where you are likely to lose your enchantments, such as Lonarʹs
Pass.
Manage your energy wisely when running, and get very familiar with how long your skills last
and how quickly they cool down. With a constant mending, your energy regeneration is very
slow, so donʹt sprint when you donʹt need it, and donʹt hesitate to wait in safe spots for energy to
replenish some. You can comfortably use balanced stance, then charge, and as the balanced
stance wears off, use sprint to get to the next safe spot. Once you hit a safe spot, wait a moment or
two for energy and skills to recharge. That combination will get you through most areas, like
Snake Dance, and with 7 to 10 points of damage reduction (3 from superior absorption, 2 from a
piece of Ascalon or Knight’s armor, and 2 to 5 from a shield bonus enchanted, in stance, hexed, or
some combination) plus a constant mending, you can even recharge energy and skills a little
when you ARENʹT in a safe spot.
Fighting
My most profitable runs are ones that involve both fighting and running or just fighting, like
getting people to and through all three ascension missions from lionʹs arch. I charge 75K for that
run, and it takes about 2 hours. Thatʹs a great return if I just take one person (around 40K per
hour), and if I take 3 or 4 at the same time, it is well over 100K per hour for my time. No farming
spot anywhere compares with that. Southern Shiverpeaks runs and helping people get to the
eternal Forge Master in the Fissure of Woe offer comparable rates of return, but again, you have
to know the game inside and out and be able to fight your way though an area with little or no
help from the passengers.
Take henchmen to fill the party to maximum capacity. I always take the two warriors (to deal
consistent damage) and the two monks (to heal and protect) as first priorities if I have room for
them. Orion is too unreliable, but he makes an okay 5th choice, along with a ranger if there is
room.
Here are the skills I use:
1. Mending (always use this just to survive anything and recast it when safe if it gets
removed)
2. Mend Ailment (in fights, this skill is used to cure a blind effect if you suffer it)
3. Healing Signet (in safe spots, get your life back up to full before proceeding on)
4. Endure Pain (in emergencies, typically facing Heretic’s, this skill will get you through)
5. Sever Artery (start the bleeding and put some adrenaline to use)
6. Final Thrust (massive damage once the enemy is at less than 50% health)
7. Hundred Blades (Elite ‐ captured from Undead Rurik in Hellʹs Precipice ‐ excellent
damage to individual enemies or groups at a low energy cost)
8. Resurrection Signet (or Rebirth ‐ keep those henchmen alive quickly and long enough to
kill the next boss)
Sometimes you can swap out a few of those skills, for example Mend Ailment is critical on the
ascension trials because you are regularly blinded in the desert just when itʹs imperative that you
kill things fast, but in other fights you will find that you donʹt need it. Resurrection Signet is great
in the desert missions because it is never long before you face another boss and recharge the skill,
but in the Fissure of Woe, Rebirth is a better choice.
Hybrid Running and Fighting
On a handful of runs I do a little fighting to a critical choke point and then run the rest. An
example is Iron Mines to Copperhammer Mines, where a choke point that you have to pass
through contains a boss and an Heretic’s, along with a few Pinesouls in the area. If you are
running alone, you are almost certain to get crippled, crippling anguish, a phantasm, and a few
necromancer curses stacked on at once and crawl through the area only to die. It is possible to
run it and once you are a true expert you can do so regularly. Until then, fight and run. If you
fight there with henchmen, you can leave the henchmen in the choke point suffering all the
curses and negative effects while you quickly run the second half of the zone, and it still only
takes a couple of minutes. Another example of a hybrid run is the Sanctum Cay mission, where
you can grab the scepter and run all the way to the cut scene with it in a matter of minutes, but
then you have to fight to protect the Vizier as he raises the boat from the sea. Please note that if
you stand in exactly the right spot, you don’t even have to fight as he raises the boat, but it helps
to be prepared for a fight anyway.
Here are the skills I use on a hybrid run:
1. Mending (always use this just to survive anything and recast it when safe if it gets
removed)
2. Sever Artery OR Pure Strike OR Mend Ailment (you rarely need to mend ailments in a
hybrid fight/run)
3. Healing Signet (in safe spots, get your life back up to full before proceeding on)
4. Endure Pain (for emergencies)
5. Pure Strike OR Balanced Stance (some hybrid runs donʹt have knockdown threats)
6. Final Thrust (massive damage once the enemy is at less than 50% health)
7. Charge (Elite ‐ captured from Balthazarʹs Cursed, a flesh golem on Perdition Rock)
8. Sprint (basic running skill, donʹt use it when you are going to use balanced stance)
Business Ethics
Honesty is ALWAYS the best policy and you WILL make more money by becoming someone
people can trust rather than scamming a few people here and there, not finishing runs, getting
your name and account blacklisted, or anything else. My best business has always been good
friends and repeat customers.
Here are some basic principles of business ethics:
• The customer is always right
• Keep your reputation intact and you will not have to worry about getting business
• Donʹt blame the customer for things outside of his or her control (lost connections, for
example ‐ I will redo portions of runs for free if people lose a connection one time; more
than once and they have to pay for a redo)
• If you were ever to fail a run, provide a full refund
• Communicate! If you are going to leave for a minute, or have an emergency, let people
know; if you canʹt finish the run refund or let people know when you will finish it; if you
want customers to help somehow (by skipping cut scenes, dying so that henchmen donʹt
get confused, fighting with you, or whatever else) let them know that
There is always a way to protect yourself from unethical customers. I work almost exclusively
with the wealthy elite and people who trust and understand reputations.
Here are a few tips:
• Never negotiate your price; decide what you are going to charge and charge it; do not
reduce fees to compete with scammers or to satisfy complaining customers (you donʹt
want complaining customers anyway); you can charge different amounts from different
people, though: I usually charge a lot to the person who needs the run right away
(enough to make the run worth my while even if no one else comes), but then charge less
(but a non‐negotiable amount) to others who join in towns along the way
• Once your reputation is established, collected fees at the start: until then, collect fees
along the way at points where everyone is protected
• Insist that your customers communicate: if they donʹt answer your questions or talk to
you, or have grammar that is indecipherable, they probably wonʹt pay you; kick people
who donʹt communicate, who donʹt tell you when they are going AFK, or whatever else, from the party.
Additional Strategy Tips
Blessed Signet
Take this one on runs where you use energy fast, but have safe moments to rest and recharge.
Snake Dance is a good example, and you can use this signet to get 3 energy for having a mending
going, which can speed up some basic runs. This skill does not provide much of a difference, but
it does provide less waiting time on energy recharge.
Smite Hex or Remove Hex
Normally I just run through hexes and use endure pain to survive, but some runs (such as to the
war camp), require me to carry one or both of these skills to make it solo. When the hexes start
stacking, try to hit the skill at a time that will eliminate the crippling anguish, about the only
thing (besides getting trapped and body blocked in a lag spike) that can bring down the LBS
build. Smite Hex casts faster but recharges slower, so use it if you only expect infrequent hexes.
Mend Ailment or Purge Conditions
The Purge Conditions skill is an excellent alternative to Mend Ailment when you wonʹt need to
recast very quickly. It has a longer recharge, but a faster cast and removes all conditions. Purge
Conditions is not recommended for desert missions, but is excellent on the run to Copperhammer
mines.
If you get surrounded by trolls or anything else, and get blocked in on a run, you can often die. However, I have found that if you keep holding down the forward key, and spam the x key at the same time (the x key turns you 180 degrees), the surrounding monsters will lose their aggro and you can slip through and survive!
Here are the pictures of the various running builds that i use
Shiverpeak Runner
![(!empty($user->lang['IMAGE'])) ? $user->lang['IMAGE'] : ucwords(strtolower(str_replace('_', ' ', 'IMAGE')))](http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/1170/runner1vh2.png)
Sanctum Cay Runner
![(!empty($user->lang['IMAGE'])) ? $user->lang['IMAGE'] : ucwords(strtolower(str_replace('_', ' ', 'IMAGE')))](http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/3382/runner2o)
Kryta Runner
![(!empty($user->lang['IMAGE'])) ? $user->lang['IMAGE'] : ucwords(strtolower(str_replace('_', ' ', 'IMAGE')))](http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/54/runner3uk0.png)
Droknars Forge Runners
![(!empty($user->lang['IMAGE'])) ? $user->lang['IMAGE'] : ucwords(strtolower(str_replace('_', ' ', 'IMAGE')))](http://img415.imageshack.us/img415/7536/runner4hb2.png)
![(!empty($user->lang['IMAGE'])) ? $user->lang['IMAGE'] : ucwords(strtolower(str_replace('_', ' ', 'IMAGE')))](http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/7321/runner5rm0.png)
Desert Runner
![(!empty($user->lang['IMAGE'])) ? $user->lang['IMAGE'] : ucwords(strtolower(str_replace('_', ' ', 'IMAGE')))](http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/3061/runner6uy4.png)
Copperhammer Mines -> Iron Mines Of Moladune Runner
![(!empty($user->lang['IMAGE'])) ? $user->lang['IMAGE'] : ucwords(strtolower(str_replace('_', ' ', 'IMAGE')))](http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/5007/runner7rh9.png)
That completes the running part of this guide. The following builds are for FARMING purposes. I myself love the 2-Man team build, it absolutely OWNS in the Underworld.
55hp monk Uw [part of 2 man team]
![(!empty($user->lang['IMAGE'])) ? $user->lang['IMAGE'] : ucwords(strtolower(str_replace('_', ' ', 'IMAGE')))](http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/4460/farmer1zq8.png)
55hp monk Solo , Elona Minotaurs and Droknars Trolls + Others
![(!empty($user->lang['IMAGE'])) ? $user->lang['IMAGE'] : ucwords(strtolower(str_replace('_', ' ', 'IMAGE')))](http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/9501/farmer2gi4.png)
And that concludes my guide. Hope you enjoyed it!