How to Cata Cast EffectivelyPrologue: The current quickest games in LS v1.19.0 will involve 4-5x casters with high prof and an XP driver. Read here for the
Quickest LS Climb on record. However, realize that there is more to simply throwing on a caster charm on and joining a random cata in hopes to speed climb. I want to dive into the basics for making casting a viable build in catas.
Prof Guidelines- Prof 1-10: Don’t think about joining a cata and casting
- Prof 10-15: Minimum Requirement to consider casting
- Prof 15-20: Minimum Requirement to be an Effective
- Prof 20+: Minimum Requirement to be a Cata Casting Group Leader
Group MakeupIt is obviously preferenced to premake groups handpicked for the purpose of cata casting. See some of the scenarios noted below:
- 5 Casters + 0 Melee: Any mix of 10+ profs and ‘Driving in the Black’ (don’t explore the maze and simply move back and forth in a fashion that won’t allow quests or Evil Presences to spawn)
- 4 Casters + 1 Melee: Hybrid melee preferred & Tanker Ideal. 1x 20+ prof can enable any 3x other casters to be effective. Drive in the black if the melee isn’t a tank, if you don’t have 2x+ casters with 20+ prof, or if the casters don’t all have 15+ prof. A hard hitting melee char and intelligent casters can alleviate the need to run black though.
- 3 Casters + 2 Melee: Casters can begin to run out of mana quickly if you don’t have 2x ppl 20+ prof or aren’t casting efficiently. This make-up can still work nicely with smart casting and high hitting melee.
- 2 Casters + 3 Melee: Even 2x 20+ profs can struggle here. I don’t like this setup much unless everyone has insane gear. It would be best imo for 1 of the casters to have a heal charm while the other has an int main slotted. I suggest only casting on 6+ mob groups.
- 1 Caster + 4 Melee: Don’t put yourself in this situation and attempt to cast. Be a healer and possibly cast on large waves if you have spare mana.
How To Cast- If you find yourself in an all casting group, then you obviously have to cast on everything. Evil Presences (EPs), Shamans, and possibly Ambush can be worrisome. You may have to remake if you get slammed with the above .
- The more melee guys you have in your group, the more you may find it beneficial to primarily cast on larger waves to conserve mana. You will be able to judge this after a lvl or two. If your prof is high enough, 1 cast regardless of the wave size can prove beneficial to everyone. Be sure to attack with your weak weapon when not casting to still gain appropriate XP. EP encounters should also be left for melee.
- Sometimes keeping a high mana item in stash is helpful. This is used to rotate items before lvl to increase Mana Pool and then rotate it out for pure Int after that amount of mana has been consumed. This is a cheap way to have the best of both worlds if you don't own crazy int/mana gear.
Secondary Slotting Casting Charm - "“The Accessory Charm is an additional Equipment slot reserved for a second charm. When used in Catacombs, the mana usage is also reduced by 25%”
- By placing the casting charm in the secondary slot and placing a +Int charm in the primary slot, the damage of the charm CAN improve in many situations and casting cost stretches mana susbstatially as seen below:
Example:Primary Slot: 70Int Charm
Secondary Slot: 150EE Charm
Equation = (Primary Slot Int + Secondary Slot EE) * .75
Effective EE in Secondary Slot = (70 +150 = 220) * .75 = 165EE Equiv Charm with 75% of casting cost
Yes, you not only
Improved the Effective Damage of the Charm(cheaper than buying a higher EE Charm), but you also
reduce the casting cost by 75%. With this setup you get the best of both worlds!
Note that the higher the EE of the charm will of course reduce the ability to counteract the deduction in power. However, the casting cost reduction is the key factor to consider here with +Int added to not completely chop your legs off.
+Int Charm NotesSome ppl believe that adding +Mana over +Int is ideal at low lvls. In some ways it is since most team members have charms close to cap at these lvls and can survive with the loss in power. All my lower gear has +mana & +Int and prefer a lot of extra mana on my items at these levels. However, realize that when I speed climb with UA, mobs primarily die in a single hit with the high int used. By killing or severely damaging the mobs, you will in turn eliminate the need to continue casting and save a substantial amount of Mana for yourself and the entire group. It will also contribute to the primary reason of casting in a cata—SPEED! Note that at later levels (Say 35+) many ppl’s charms get further and further away from the respective caps. Also, by this time, the mana pools have increased substantially. Not using a high +Int Charm at these levels can cripple the group with reduction in power and contribute to prematurely running out of mana for the level. I can’t stress enough the need for +Intelligence Charms for these levels when secondary slotting. As Cata Casting has brought Ladder Slasher to an entirely new plateau, I see Quality Intelligence Charms becoming more valuable than Strength Charms and suggest all those that enjoy casting in catas to attain a proper set. Heck I'm even starting to see some ppl using Unspawn Int Charms placed in the primary slot to utilize some more desirable mods to speed up ARENA climbs (42int 15xp T1 for example).
Hope these tips help make the experience for everyone a more pleasant one in catas!
~NickThis post was edited by Stok3d on Aug 17 2010 08:47pm