Why I shouldnt start a drow

[Krashmoss]

Hey guys, I got a question ... I'm still new to the game (bought it a week ago) so I can't find out by myself the answer to that question ... So, Drow seems to be overpowered as a race ... I mean, it got +6 stats for a minus of 2 ... no other race got such a start, so, why I don't see only drow runnin in stormreach. Ok ... maybe it dont fit melee class like fighter or barb ... but still, most class can get great benefit from this racial bonus. Is it something with DnD lore which drow aren't accepted in the world or what ..?

Thx for the time

[hydra_ex]

Once you get total favor of 1750, you unlock something known as the 32-pt build. At this point, drow becomes almost useless for alot of classes. Also, some people made tons of 28-pt builds when they first played and could bear to stop playing them.

[Krashmoss]

you unlock something known as the 32-pt build



Ok ... What is that 32-pt build?

[fiftyone]

At character creation you get 32 points to spend on your abilities instead of the normal 28.

[Oran_Lathor]

A 32-point build is just what it sounds like. It allows you to build your character with 32 start points instead of the normal 28 when picking attributes (str, dex, con, etc). It applies to all races *except* drow though, so in a way drow are already a 32 point build. In fact, for any class that uses intelligence or charisma, or in some cases dexterity - drow are in fact superior to 32 point builds.

Drow are a great choice for a newer player. Would a 32-point dwarf make a better barbarian? Yeah, but the drow would make a better sorceror, or wizard. Everything else is + or - depending on the specifics of the build.

[Krashmoss]

I'm still not gettin it ... Why stratin with 32 pts is bad ... I mean, if ya got 4 more pts, it should improve your guy ... no?

[Oran_Lathor]

32 point builds are a good thing. They are a reward for reaching a high favour count in the game (completing a lot of quests). The devs basically gave people access to 32-point versions of the standard races for the very reason you laid out in your opening post: people complained that drow were overpowered.

[Krashmoss]

Ohhh, I see, so the 32 pts are given to the 5 regular races only ... so the + 4 racial bonus drow have equal the +4 given to other races ... that's it? But drow dont get that +32 pts, right?

[Krashmoss]

Seems I missed a post, hehe, I understand now.

Thx for the tips

[captain1z]

a drow is built using 32 attribute points........you unlock the drow at 400 favor............at 1750 you unlock 32 pt character which allows you to make any race, except the drow as a 32 attribute pt character.


when drows first became available long ago, every character you met was a drow............. much like how monks have just released and everywhere you turn there is like 6 of em.

everything will return to normal soon enough......... every race and class has their limits and noone wants to play 1 thing forever.

[Red_Knight]

I'm still not gettin it ... Why stratin with 32 pts is bad ... I mean, if ya got 4 more pts, it should improve your guy ... no?

Drow are the only race I believe that for instance can have a 20 charisma at level one. Also I think the only race currently with an int boost so is the only one able to get 20 int at level one. Thus make better bards, sorcerers, wizards, and potentially good clerics and paladins. Their innate SR also helps out, especially if you devote enhancements to it (which I do).

That said, when I rolled my first monk I went human instead of drow. Why? Well, for one thing the bonus skill points for being human offset the fact that I don't have Int of 10, as a drow I'd have said int score.

Second of all, based on my desired stat allocation I determined that human or drow, it'd still cost 12 stat points at character creation to have dex 16 and con 12. Charisma didn't matter to me as a monk, so I opted for human to get a bonus feat. This gave me Toughness and Weapon Finesse at level one, instead of just Weapon Finesse. It also gives me access to the mark of sentential dragonmark if desired. Shield of Faith as a spell-like ability? I like.

Each race has it's pros and cons, even drow. Sure a drow *can* have a 20 in int, dex, or cha... but doing so is just as expensive as putting an 18 in a stat normally. Better to go 16 or 17 to start and improve multiple stats.

[tinyelvis]

Drow are actually a little better than a 32 pt build for a number of classes, however, people got sick of them and looked for some other variety.

[Unforgiven665]

Drow are actually a little better than a 32 pt build for a number of classes, however, people got sick of them and looked for some other variety.

ok,can you tell me then which ones are? because i have just unlocked a drow and meant building a bard? but everyone says drow spellsinger is gimp. also don't want to build sorc/wiz because one of my toons is human sorc which i like.

I am happy that there are 32 builds and drows are not at all boring to me, hope they won't be to others.

[Visty]

the only class where drows are superior is the divine might dps paladin

for rest they are either equal or worse as other 32pt races

[ddaedelus]

ok,can you tell me then which ones are? because i have just unlocked a drow and meant building a bard? but everyone says drow spellsinger is gimp. also don't want to build sorc/wiz because one of my toons is human sorc which i like.

I am happy that there are 32 builds and drows are not at all boring to me, hope they won't be to others.

Unless they're giving you a reason for saying a drow spellsinger is gimp, I'd ignore them. The only thing I can think of that's "wrong" with that combo is that you've picked spellsinger instead of warchanter, and that's certainly debatable (and has nothing to do with drow).

[Corebreach]

the only class where drows are superior is the divine might dps paladin

for rest they are either equal or worse as other 32pt races
No surprise there at all.

How do drow compare to other races on 28-pt builds?

[assamite]

everything will return to normal soon enough......... every race and class has their limits and noone wants to play 1 thing forever.

I want to play a dwarf fighter for the rest of my life. :P

[AylinIsAwesome]

ok,can you tell me then which ones are? because i have just unlocked a drow and meant building a bard? but everyone says drow spellsinger is gimp. also don't want to build sorc/wiz because one of my toons is human sorc which i like.

I am happy that there are 32 builds and drows are not at all boring to me, hope they won't be to others.


Alright, the rules for determining where Drow are good for a specific class are thus:

1. Do you need to have some combination of good INT/CHA/DEX?

2. Do you need to start with 20 in INT/CHA/DEX?


An earlier example was a DPS Drow Paladin (perhaps the only place where Drow are MUCH better than any other race, even 32-point builds) because you can start with stats 15/16/12/10/8/17. An elf can only get to 15/16/12/10/8/16, making it much harder to get to Divine Might 4 (since +4 tomes are much harder to get than +3 tomes).

Bard, Sorc and Wizzy are good choices since you can start with either 20 INT or CHA (meaning you can have the highest DCs with a +4 tome if you can get your hands on one). Rogues can also work, since CHA is used for UMD (possibly the best skill in the entire game, ever). And of course, the +2 INT will give you a +1 DC on your Assassinate check if you follow that path. Always remember to put your CON to 12 though (more on an arcane, since the hit dice for those classes are so small).


Now, about Drow Spell Resistance: Never spend APs to improve it. A caster can give you better SR than what you'd be able to get through APs, and there are many items which also give you SR.


Drow can of course make good Bards, though Spellsinger is often seen as weak for a few reasons. The low spell point pool is probably the biggest. It's one of the reasons why Warchanter is often viewed as stronger (since the lower SP pool doesn't matter as much if you're doing primarily casting), with the other being that Warchanters can increase party DPS by a significant amount (plus being pretty self-sufficient to boot).

For a Drow Warchanter, I'd suggest a TWF build, using Rapiers (to take advantage of the Drow rapier enhancements), since that would pretty nicely take advantage of all the Drow racial bonuses. (Good UMD, GTWF, enough skill points for full ranks in UMD, Perform, Balance, Haggle, 11 ranks in Spot (better than Listen) and some Jump and Tumble, even with something like 2 Fighter thrown in).

For a Drow Spellsinger, best advice I can give is to stay pure, start with at least 12 CON, take Toughness somewhere along the way (and spend 3 APs on racial toughness) and keep CHA pretty high (you don't need to put it to 20 at the start [19 + 5 level ups + 3 enhancements + 2 capstone + 3 tome + 6 item + 2 exceptional = 40, only way to get a higher bonus than that is to start with 20 CHA and use a +4 tome (though those are hard to get)]).

Anyway, for either build it's best to choose True Neutral as your alignment.

I hope that helps. :)

[Braed]

I'd add Assassin to the list of good Drow characters, given they can be built with good Cha and high Dex and Int.