Soloable WF Melee

[Mordoth1]

I'd like to have a heavy metal type WF melee who is soloable. Prefer Adamantine Body, TWF if that works? Relatively new to the game, mostly played pure WF Wizard so far. Would like to try out a melee type. Oh, and only have 28 pt build access.

[Dark-Star]

2 rogue/18 paladin focusing on AC.

13 rogue/6 fighter/1 monk focusing on AC.

20 Monk focusing on AC.

18 ranger/1 rogue/1 monk focusing on AC.

11 wizard/7 cleric/2 rogue focusing on melee dps.

16 sorc/2 pali /2 rogue or monk focusing on melee dps.

2 monk/18 cleric focusing on ac and dps.

12 sorc/2 monk/6 fighter focusing on AC and melee dps.

20 cleric.

20 rogue.

20 bard.

[Arianrhod]

2 rogue/18 paladin focusing on AC.

13 rogue/6 fighter/1 monk focusing on AC.

20 Monk focusing on AC.

18 ranger/1 rogue/1 monk focusing on AC.

11 wizard/7 cleric/2 rogue focusing on melee dps.

16 sorc/2 pali /2 rogue or monk focusing on melee dps.

2 monk/18 cleric focusing on ac and dps.

12 sorc/2 monk/6 fighter focusing on AC and melee dps.

20 cleric.

20 rogue.

20 bard.

Of these, only the cleric would be advised to use adamantine body. And then only if the player really wants it. Most of the rest either get Evasion with their primary class, or splash for it, or don't have heavy armor proficiency at all. Might consider a WF pure pally or pally 18/ftr2 if you really like admantine body and want to be a meleer. Without evasion you'll probably want to focus more on HP than AC. As for TWF....it doesn't really mesh well with Adamantine body, as you either need high dex (base 17 for GTWF, I believe - items & enhancements don't count toward qualifying for the feat) or a lot of ranger levels (in which case you'd have Evasion, which doesn't work in heavy armor).

[Thanimal]

Man, I remember when Adamantine Body seemed like a great feat. I wonder if it ever actually was?

These days, TWF rules the roost for DPS, and once you've got enough DEX to support that, the *only* reason to consider Adamantine Body is for the DR, and that's only really meaningful if you're going to completely commit to it and reach Permanent Stoneskin by the end-game. (Only really possible on a Fighter since you have to spend all your "regular" feats on DR.)

Furthermore, the Monk Splash usually means you can actually get significantly MORE armor class in Composite Body, at least at higher levels.

I think a very nice solo WF with good DPS is a Paladin 18/Monk 2. I'd be happy to work up a full 28-point if you're interested. Such a build has pretty good self-sufficiency. If you wanna really go all-out soloable, I'm currently leveling a Paladin 17/Monk 2/Wizard 1. This build has fabulous self-sufficiency and can wand-Shield himself for consistently very solid AC, even relative to the needs of higher levels, while dual-wielding Khopeshes. It can't claim to compete for the highest DPS in the game (and it's certainly not a full-on intimitank), but its DPS and AC are both good -- expect to lead in kills in many if not most PUGs. Its overall contribution to parties is good, too, because in addition to its "decent" DPS, it adds auras, buffs, resurrection (at higher levels), and is a very light burden on the healer. Loving Vrogg so far, but he's young yet.

[Thanimal]

13 rogue/6 fighter/1 monk focusing on AC.


That build is awesome btw. :)

But don't you mean 12 Rogue/6 Fighter/2 Monk? (heheh -- couldn't resist!)

P.S. Did you make it yet? I wanna hear all about it!

[Dark-Star]

That build is awesome btw. :)

But don't you mean 12 Rogue/6 Fighter/2 Monk? (heheh -- couldn't resist!)

P.S. Did you make it yet? I wanna hear all about it!

Not yet, but it's next.

Capping another dps beast first; 14 pali/6 ranger WF, one level to go.

[Mordoth1]

Man, I remember when Adamantine Body seemed like a great feat. I wonder if it ever actually was?

These days, TWF rules the roost for DPS, and once you've got enough DEX to support that, the *only* reason to consider Adamantine Body is for the DR, and that's only really meaningful if you're going to completely commit to it and reach Permanent Stoneskin by the end-game. (Only really possible on a Fighter since you have to spend all your "regular" feats on DR.)

Furthermore, the Monk Splash usually means you can actually get significantly MORE armor class in Composite Body, at least at higher levels.

I think a very nice solo WF with good DPS is a Paladin 18/Monk 2. I'd be happy to work up a full 28-point if you're interested. Such a build has pretty good self-sufficiency. If you wanna really go all-out soloable, I'm currently leveling a Paladin 17/Monk 2/Wizard 1. This build has fabulous self-sufficiency and can wand-Shield himself for consistently very solid AC, even relative to the needs of higher levels, while dual-wielding Khopeshes. It can't claim to compete for the highest DPS in the game (and it's certainly not a full-on intimitank), but its DPS and AC are both good -- expect to lead in kills in many if not most PUGs. Its overall contribution to parties is good, too, because in addition to its "decent" DPS, it adds auras, buffs, resurrection (at higher levels), and is a very light burden on the healer. Loving Vrogg so far, but he's young yet.

Sure! The Paladin 18/Monk 2 sounds interesting. Just whenever you get around to it.

[Thanimal]

Sure! The Paladin 18/Monk 2 sounds interesting. Just whenever you get around to it.

As much I think 32-point builds are over-rated, this build definitely requires some "hard decisions" to do as a 28. I think realistically you either need to give up on Divine Might (in which case you don't need much CHA to start with) or else you go all-out CHA focus rather than STR. I slightly prefer the former, so I'll show you an example of how to do that, which is very similar to the Vrogg build I'm currently leveling:

28-point WF Paladin 18/Monk 2:
STR 15 [8 points] (+1 tome +4 bumps +6 item = 26)
DEX 16 [10] (+1 tome +1 bump +6 item = 24)
CON 10 [0] (+1 tome +1 WF enh +6 item = 18)
INT 8 [0]
WIS 12 [6] (+1 tome +1 enh +6 item = 20)
CHA 10 [4] (+1 tome +3 enh +6 item = 20)

It's a bit inconvenient to wear 5 stat items nearly all the time, but definitely worth it here.

Monk at first level for a few ranks of Jump, Balance, and whatever else you feel like. Then second Monk level whenever you feel like you need Evasion (I like it around 4 or 5).

Monk Bonus Feats (in order): Toughness, Power Attack
Regular feats (in order): TWF, Khopesh proficiency, oversized TWF, iTWF, iCrit, gTWF, Extend

Probably the hardest thing to decide is what enhancements. Paladins really have a lot of great enhancements -- so much so that I'm not even planning to take any PrEs on Vrogg. But both the Defender and Knight lines are interesting here. The "problem" with the Knight line is that it seems like it doesn't get really good until the end game, which may be of less concern to you. The good news is you can respec enhancements fairly cheaply!

Final note: This build is capable of maintaining "tolerable" AC, if you work at it. I suggest putting a focus on AC helping equipment to keep that up. And a few Shield clickies are strongly recommended.

Hope this helps!