Warchanter Equip Help

[EsoMonty]

I am trying to equip my Axesinger to the best of my ability. I am new to the game and do not have access to a crazy amount of plat. I feel like I am doing a decent job, but I have some questions.

What slot is best for stat bonuses?

Right now I am using wrist slot for Strength, Ring for Constitution, Hands for Dex.

What items should I be saving for?

Are there specific named items or places I should be farming, for items?

For the record, I am level 8 about 18k xp from level 9. I am looking for things that I can do now or soon.

Thanks,
Tibult

[Krag]

The greatest weakness of axesinger (or any other bard) is his lack of survivability: you don't have hp of enraged barbarian nor the AC of a monk. Therefore you have no other choice but to dedicate your gear to increase your prowess.

1. Heavy Fortification is the key to negate solid part of incoming damage and prevent damage spikes. ML 8 robes of heavy fort are not common, but ML 10 are easy available. So are Nightforge Gorget and Minos Legens.

2. Next thing to get as many hp as possible.
- Minos Legens gives you +20hp.
- Greater False Life +30hp
- +Con item up to +60hp

(expensive!)
- +2 exeptional Con +20hp
- +2 tome +20hp
- GS hp item +45hp
- Madstone Boots

(top tier)
+3 exeptional
+3-4 tome
+7 con (epic item)
Superior False Life (epic item)

2.a Healing amplification.
Get it if you have a chance, but don't stress over it.

3. Str and to-hit
<skipped>

4. UMD
Your goal is to UMD heal scrolls with 0% failure.
- +6 Cha
- Runic Gloves/Voice of the Master/Golden Cartouche/Head of Good Fortune/etc.

- +6 cha skills on GS item

5. Mana
- Power/Magi/etc.

- GS Concordinate Opposition
- Torc of Prince Raiyum-de II

6. Saves/Immunities/etc.
<skipped>

--------------------------

Example of what you can wear at level 20:
Helm: Minos Legens
Neck: Torc of Prince Raiyum-de II
Armor: DT Robe (+5resistance, +1Str, Destruction)
Bracers: Levik's Bracers
Gloves: Spectral Gloves
Belt: Disease Immunity+GFL
Boots: Madstone/FF
Ring1: Con+6
Ring2: various elemental resistances
Trinket: Bloodstone
Goggles: Tharne's Goggles
Cloak: GS conc opp hp item


Check this thread to see where the specific items drop and what effects they give:
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=121279

[Thelmallen]

That's a good breakdown of items, Krag, nearly exactly what my battle bard wears. However, don't forget the Bard's cloak at lvl 13--charisma +6 and +15 perform on one itme is hard to pass up.

[Vissarion]

That's a great breakdown of end-game gear, but my question is, what items should I be on the lookout for while leveling my Drow Warchanter between, say, levels 6-12?

I figure I'll try to get a couple Tyrzza's Banes for good DR-bypassing rapiers, but are there other things that are must-haves?

[bcgone]

Here is what my Warchanter wears:

He is a TWF so has more dex than your avg warchanter what uses a greataxe...

+6 Str ring (will upgrade to exceptional ToD ring for str or con)
Spectral gloves (+5 dex)
Belt of +6 con and GFL (quest belt from Amrath quests) ... prior to Level 18 I wore proof against poison of GFL, and a +6 con necklace
Bards cloak from VoD (+6 CHR and +15 perform)
For armor he wears the breastplate of Vol (+5 mithril breastplate, +4 dex), because of his dex this armor yields better ac than DT until I can get the proper buffs on that DT armor.

Warchanters are not real dependant upon Wis, Int, or even much Chr since their abilities are their dps songs and such. My direction was to create a barbarian that also has dps songs. Not sure that answers your questions, but I hope it helps.

BC

[moops]

At your level you should be able to pick up a +10 perform item cheap--tho it's usually going to be in the neck or the glove slot, but you could just put it on for the times that you want to facinate.

[Rav'n]

OP...to Clarify for levels 8-12

STR Glove or Bracer
DEX Glove or Bracer
CON Ring or Belt
CHA Ring or Cloak
Leave you Necklace for Situational... Poison, Necropolis Neckalce (Blocks level Drains)

Trinket Slot will be Bat head, Time Pendant, VoM... etc.

Perform comes on Cloaks and Gloves... but as was previously posted, that's a situational need.

Can you get those stats on other things? Yes...but when you start running the Mid level and upper level Raids... the Loot there will transfer easily into the slots above. There's nothing worse than setting up your character, only to have everything change because of ONE piece of Loot.

[bcgone]

That's a great breakdown of end-game gear, but my question is, what items should I be on the lookout for while leveling my Drow Warchanter between, say, levels 6-12?

I figure I'll try to get a couple Tyrzza's Banes for good DR-bypassing rapiers, but are there other things that are must-haves?

Again to clarify, you want to have the best STR and CON items appropriate for your level. You will want to have the best holy burst weapon for each level, after that it varies. You will want a vorpal, disruptor, possibly paralyzer, if you keep an solid eye on the AH there are many of these for sale at a decent price nowadays.

Not sure if thats what you mean, but make sure you have the pre-reqs for warchanter, i.e. power attack etc. Your groups will never struggle if you max your war songs. When you add all the song bonuses to all the tanks in your group, you guys will destroy everything in your level range.

[bcgone]

Leave you Necklace for Situational... Poison, Necropolis Neckalce (Blocks level Drains)



Best advice ever. Slot planning has bitten me more than once.

[Vissarion]

Thanks for the advice. My gearing situation looks reasonably close to the breakdown that Rav'n suggests (though I usually go Fort on belt slot until either Nightforge Gorget or Minos Legens time). Strength on bracers, Dex on gloves, etc.

As for a Perform boosting item, does it have additional utility beyond Fascinate? At the moment, I'm not using Fascinate all that much, but that's usually because groups I'm in are tearing through monsters too quickly for that kind of CC to be super-useful (and I do indeed have my war songs maxed and all my Warchanter pre-reqs covered).

I just wasn't sure if there was any named gear worth grinding for. I browsed through the static loot thread, and nothing really jumped out at me as being relevant for a Bard in that level range (well, except of course stuff that I would already be aiming for for melee purposes, etc).

I'm hoping that my Haggle skills will make affording those big ticket items (vorps, disruptors, etc) easier to acquire, as I started the toon on a server where I couldn't really twink it out. :)

[A_Sheep]

I just wasn't sure if there was any named gear worth grinding for.


Nothing that you wouldn't be wearing at cap for a while is 'worth' grinding for :-P.

[Braed]

For the range you're looking for, I'd live in Delera's. I started running it at six, and by the time I was done with it I left with Linen Handwraps (+4 Str, Disease Immunity gloves), Iron Manacles (Protection +4 bracers), Golden Cartouche, and Voice of the Master. I was lucky and able to upgrade my Holy Mace into a Silver Holy Mace to stick in my bag.

If you're THF/using Master's Touch, then you can pick up Carnifex too.

[Ganak]

You can click on my toon Manak in my sig below to see what I'm doing for my 14/6 warchanter/kensei.

Still working on getting a kensei ring.

I really am an advocate of triple positive sp gear on bards for the +6 to chr skills bonus, although you can get some of this w a concord opp item too.

I really like a triple positive superior devotion weapon too, but not if you will be using the bard tod necklaces.

[EsoMonty]

OP...to Clarify for levels 8-12

STR Glove or Bracer
DEX Glove or Bracer
CON Ring or Belt
CHA Ring or Cloak
Leave you Necklace for Situational... Poison, Necropolis Neckalce (Blocks level Drains)

Trinket Slot will be Bat head, Time Pendant, VoM... etc.

Perform comes on Cloaks and Gloves... but as was previously posted, that's a situational need.

Can you get those stats on other things? Yes...but when you start running the Mid level and upper level Raids... the Loot there will transfer easily into the slots above. There's nothing worse than setting up your character, only to have everything change because of ONE piece of Loot.

I have done it a couple of times already, and decided I probably should ask about it, before things start getting more expensive seeing as i am quite poor! haha.

Thanks to everyone for the responses. I have a lot of information to suck down and very happy to see a helpful community here.