sigtrent
07-20-2009, 06:10 PM
Sigfried Trent’s Build Standards
Updated: 04/22/2010
Introduction
In an effort to make the process of creating builds easier and to create a kind of baseline by which they can be compared I decided to come up with some standards for my own posted builds. This is not meant to disparage the way anyone else does builds.
Main Philosophy
Builds are created for a purpose and that purpose is the guiding ideal that results in the specific choices. A good build should lay out its objectives and clearly illustrate how to meet them. By doing both you enable others to alter or adjust the build to meet their needs.
My personal tastes will show through. I like multi-classing, odd combos, experiments, and self sufficient builds. I like having lots of options and things to click on. The more moving parts the better. That said I also admire and will create simple and straight forward builds.
What is most important
1. Meeting the purpose of the build
2. Getting good game performance
3. Being creative and trying something different
Regarding Equipment
I am not an expert on phat lootz. Getting the right gear for your character is very important but it is also something where you change it up as you level and acquire items. I'm assuming folks will seek out and use the best gear for their character that they can get. Gearing builds is also very time intensive so excluding gear saves me a lot of time.
Stats and tomes
Because tomes are now available from the DDO store and because 32pt builds are as well, I have decided to favor 32pt builds and the strategic use of tomes to meet stat prerequisites. For basic builds where it just isn't all that useful I will offer a 28pt version without tomes. In either case I will include text describing how to adjust statistics for different build point levels and tome availability.
Not showing buffed values
There are so many ways to buff and gear a character I decided to stick to the basic build itself and not include final calculated values. These tend to be over inflated anyhow and hide the essential qualities of the build. This also saves me time.
Leveling up
I tend to see a character as having a lifespan. In creating builds I will only build for the final level when there is no other viable way to make the build. I will tend to structure leveling so that the character is fun to play throughout its leveling career introducing as many key components of the character as early as possible. I tend to do enhancements at level 20 because its easier to make adjustments and get the optimal final mix. Most of my characters periodically re-spec enhancements as some are great leveling up and some are better once you are geared out properly.
Suggestions encouraged
Don’t think my build is the uberest possible? Think you can do better? You found an error? Well it’s not a surprise. Not all my builds are the best build possible, likely none of them are. I very much welcome commentary and suggestions in my posts. I may well adjust the build based on that feedback. I’m not all knowing and I make errors. Sometimes I won’t take your advice, but that doesn’t mean someone else might not find it valuable, so post away. Please just be respectful of the builder and the person who requested the build.
Evaluations
I sometimes rate the performance of my builds in certain categories using this scale. This refers to the base potential, not actual performance which varies greatly due to gear and playskill. Keep in mind these are totally subjective on my part.
Top or First Tier – In the upper 10% of performance possible in this category
Second Tier – Very solid performance, good enough for elite/epic and still make yourself useful
Third Tier – Functional, but not up to par for difficult challenges
Fourth Tier – You really shouldn't even be trying to do this
Format
I had a fancy custom format, but it took me ages to do each build... So I'm using the default character generator forum export along with a simple template for comments and explanations.
Updated: 04/22/2010
Introduction
In an effort to make the process of creating builds easier and to create a kind of baseline by which they can be compared I decided to come up with some standards for my own posted builds. This is not meant to disparage the way anyone else does builds.
Main Philosophy
Builds are created for a purpose and that purpose is the guiding ideal that results in the specific choices. A good build should lay out its objectives and clearly illustrate how to meet them. By doing both you enable others to alter or adjust the build to meet their needs.
My personal tastes will show through. I like multi-classing, odd combos, experiments, and self sufficient builds. I like having lots of options and things to click on. The more moving parts the better. That said I also admire and will create simple and straight forward builds.
What is most important
1. Meeting the purpose of the build
2. Getting good game performance
3. Being creative and trying something different
Regarding Equipment
I am not an expert on phat lootz. Getting the right gear for your character is very important but it is also something where you change it up as you level and acquire items. I'm assuming folks will seek out and use the best gear for their character that they can get. Gearing builds is also very time intensive so excluding gear saves me a lot of time.
Stats and tomes
Because tomes are now available from the DDO store and because 32pt builds are as well, I have decided to favor 32pt builds and the strategic use of tomes to meet stat prerequisites. For basic builds where it just isn't all that useful I will offer a 28pt version without tomes. In either case I will include text describing how to adjust statistics for different build point levels and tome availability.
Not showing buffed values
There are so many ways to buff and gear a character I decided to stick to the basic build itself and not include final calculated values. These tend to be over inflated anyhow and hide the essential qualities of the build. This also saves me time.
Leveling up
I tend to see a character as having a lifespan. In creating builds I will only build for the final level when there is no other viable way to make the build. I will tend to structure leveling so that the character is fun to play throughout its leveling career introducing as many key components of the character as early as possible. I tend to do enhancements at level 20 because its easier to make adjustments and get the optimal final mix. Most of my characters periodically re-spec enhancements as some are great leveling up and some are better once you are geared out properly.
Suggestions encouraged
Don’t think my build is the uberest possible? Think you can do better? You found an error? Well it’s not a surprise. Not all my builds are the best build possible, likely none of them are. I very much welcome commentary and suggestions in my posts. I may well adjust the build based on that feedback. I’m not all knowing and I make errors. Sometimes I won’t take your advice, but that doesn’t mean someone else might not find it valuable, so post away. Please just be respectful of the builder and the person who requested the build.
Evaluations
I sometimes rate the performance of my builds in certain categories using this scale. This refers to the base potential, not actual performance which varies greatly due to gear and playskill. Keep in mind these are totally subjective on my part.
Top or First Tier – In the upper 10% of performance possible in this category
Second Tier – Very solid performance, good enough for elite/epic and still make yourself useful
Third Tier – Functional, but not up to par for difficult challenges
Fourth Tier – You really shouldn't even be trying to do this
Format
I had a fancy custom format, but it took me ages to do each build... So I'm using the default character generator forum export along with a simple template for comments and explanations.