New Player Looking for Melee Advice

[Marlowe221]

Hi folks,

After some searching it seems that most builds posted on the forums are very endgame focused. While that's definitely a good thing, some of us are still trying to get there!

I am looking for a melee build that is solo-capable. I really like grouping in this game but having the ability to do things on my own and not wait around on a group would be nice. Speed of quest completion is not important - I am one of those weirdos who reads all the quest dialogue and enjoys the atmosphere of the dungeons. Survivability/self-sufficiency is a concern (whether grouping or soloing).

I am a VIP but do not have 32-point builds. I have access to all races except Drow. I am not afraid of multi-class characters as long as I have a clear build plan to follow. My knowledge of game mechanics is meager but growing (just learned the hard way about the whole ghost touch thing soloing Catacombs on my Bard...).\

Any help?

[GERGE]

I think my monk fits your bill: http://forums.ddo.com/showpost.php?p=3647503&postcount=13

She is very self-sufficiency with her cleric abilities and healing ki. You don't need 32-point to build her. Just start with Shintao Monk path and ditch the path in the first level. You can change your one different feat later.

[FuzzyDuck81]

Monks are excellent since they have great saves, immunities & resistances... they're a somewhat advanced option gameplay-wise to get the hang of playing to make the most of their mix of strikes, finishers & special abilities but with practice they're a LOT of fun :D Just remember when you're NOT playing that character that you're no longer almost immune to various traps etc... though it IS kinda funny when the party is blindly following & you get all the *ding* *ding* *ding* as people get caught in the trap you were blithely ignoring ;)

Since you mentioned you're VIP, another good option could be a half elf of whichever melee class you like (one thats becoming popular is half elf monk) & go with the cleric dilantette - you'll be able to use any cure wands you like, as well as have 95% success chance on Heal scrolls at high levels & access to a number of other useful buffs through wands & scrolls, however with only 28point builds you might have a little trouble fitting in the 13 wisdom (or 13 charisma for FvS) required to qualify for it.

[unbongwah]

My vote would be for a THF paladin like Goldeneye's (http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=240780); good burst DPS, high saves, some self-healing (Lay on Hands, Cure wands), relatively low tome & gear requirements.

[Marlowe221]

My vote would be for a THF paladin like Goldeneye's (http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=240780); good burst DPS, high saves, some self-healing (Lay on Hands, Cure wands), relatively low tome & gear requirements.

Thanks! That's along the lines of what I had in mind.

Monk looks really cool but.... I'm not sure I'm ready for Monk just now.

I take it that Paladins are more survivable than Barbarians and/or Fighters?

[karl_k0ch]

I take it that Paladins are more survivable than Barbarians and/or Fighters?

Whatever surviable means.
Paladins have more stat depencencies than Barbs, so this one is going to have less HP than Fighters or Barbs with similar Equip and Level. Still, he will get about 450 HP at Cap without any problems, and 500+ with some farming (GS HP item).

Nevertheless, the Paladin has better saves (my alt Flodur (http://my.ddo.com/character/orien/flodur/)* is exactly Goldeneye's build): All saves in the high 20s, fortitude at almost 40, he is immune to fear and diseases and he has 3 Lay on Hands which cure him for 330 HP and one Unyielding Sovereignty Clickie. The ability to use CMW wands helped a bit, too.

Also, a Pally will usually deal less DPS than a Barb or a Fighter. But if your main aim is self-sufficiency and DPS, then a Paladin is not a wrong choice.

A note on Flodur's equip: Yes, I am aware that the Goggles and Bracers Slot deserve some more love.

[wolfy42]

Paladins can be, but don't have to be.


With H-elf dill most melee's can self heal pretty easy without needing UMD boosting equipment etc at this point (or needing to multiclass). Barbarians though can't use wands/scrolls while raged which makes them less effective.

Paladins high saves are important but you might want to multiclass with 2 monk levels or 2 rogue levels to get evasion as it makes much better use of your high reflex saves that way (2 monk gives more over all in my opinion).

A pure monk is VERY easy to start playing as...needing less equipment then most other classes but a pally has similar advantages as well.

Pally's get nice self healing capabilities with LoH as an emergency heal and THF pally's get some of the highest early damage in the game (although not on a regular basis).

You sound like you want something that will be playable out of the box and doesn't take a long time to be self sufficient. There are a ton of ways to do that but i'd say Paladin is probably one of the better early choices. You can reach very high AC levels with a pally early on and most importantly deal out some serious DPS as well.

With little to no starting equipment a Pally is a great starting character for soloing. So though is a monk. A cleric Dill Fighter isn't bad either (especially multiclassed a bit).

For a fast run through early levels with high survivability and self healing options try a H-elf Fighter/barbarian combo (1 barbarian level, then rest fighter to start off). That gives you a rage for boss fights (if you take a second barbarian level later you get 2) and gives you the barbarian movement speed boost and a power attack boost as well.

There are higher damage options (going H-orc for instance) but the cleric Dill gives you some very nice self healing options throughout the whole game (not to mention self buffing options as well).

Barbarian natural speed boost (10%) and barbarian sprint also are extremely useful for running quests quickly. Grabbing a Carnifex asap (deleras quest chain reward) would let you pretty much wipe the floor with everything you run into easily. Only real drawback is your saves are sub par and of course you have no evasion.

Going H-elf Dill monk 2/fighter 18 though....now that can be pretty awesome. Freaking tons of feats, decent saves (plenty of feats to boost your saves a bit more as well if you want), H2h combat for TWF, full fighter haste boost line, fighter bonus to stunning blow/trip etc, high strength bonus to both hands (most offhand weapons only get 1/2 strength bonus), Ki generation bonus from Kensi bonuses, fastest base weapon attacks in the game, monk special attacks for slight damage boost and you still get all the nice self healing options from cleric dill.

Really would want a 32 point build (at least) to pull it off though..whic would make the whole being strong at low level thing a bit less impressive (also it's a TWF based build for largest advantage which is more long term as well.

That being said you'd freaking crush things out of the box with that build hehe.

[yawumpus]

Strong solo melee builds:

Melee ranger (alway multiclass melee rangers). Start with a level of rogue. Take a lot of ranger levels. Take a fighter level (or 4 or 7) for feats. this is a great place to start (http://forums.ddo.com/showpost.php?p=2800940&postcount=16). The two issues with rangers are that that they use two weapons (they are supposed to be the best TWF in the game, maybe). This tends to get expensive in the game and may lead to painful grind towards the end (I have no idea how the upcoming crafting system will change this). This example is also a little out of date, I'd take no more than 15 levels of ranger and take the rest as fighter (take improved critical: ranged (and take a level of fighter to take it about level 10) and empowered healing. Lose oversized two weapon fighting if you have to.


Paladins are always a good place to start. They are indestructible powerhouses to start with, and fully raid capable *WITHOUT RARE GEAR* at endgame. That last bit should not be underestimated. When the ranger listed above is trying to get into the shroud (so he can grind for the stuff he needs) he will either be trying to sneak in with his bow (a cheap way to damage a boss) or wind up using a dagger and mace (not the best weapons for a mace) that happen to be both silver and good. A paladin just uses the +5 Holy metaline greatsword that the gods provide. Personally, I prefer my paladins to be drows who dual wield weapons (paladins do special damage per attack and get free weapons, so they don't have the disadvantages of TWF). If you decide you made a mistake with your first character, strongly consider finishing getting that 400 favor and building a drow TWF paladin.

Fighter and Barbarian two handed fighters. While they aren't "solo" friendly, that can be fixed by making a single plat in the game (just run "storehouse secret" on Korthos twice and sell one of the extra belts) and buying a hireling (cleric). Just don't get too used to having a cleric auto-heal you every time you get a boo-boo or you will have trouble grouping in DDO (grouping in DDO is a huge part of the game, eventually you will have to group or stick mostly with the lower levels of content. Don't worry, you can try the game for a long time before you decide to come in out of the cold (like I did)). Fighter example (http://forums.ddo.com/showpost.php?p=2801751&postcount=17), barbarian example (http://forums.ddo.com/showpost.php?p=2775734&postcount=3). Note that these builds are particularly 28 point build friendly (they just need maximum strength and high constitution, the extra points from 32 point builds are largely wasted). They are also beginner friendly, just attack, work your trips in, and if barbarian figure out when to time your rage (eventually you will be raging through the whole quest, but not for a long time, learn to rage for all the big fights and make it to a shrine with none left). Again, both builds use only one weapon at a time, thus making them much less expensive to equip. This makes a big difference in your first (and highest level) character.

Don't forget that any player can bring along a hireling (except in raids, and hirelings count to the max party size of 6). A hireling cleric, favored soul, or bard can turn most builds into solo powerhouses, but don't get in the habit of expecting a healer to rush forward and heal you. You might even want to play a cleric to learn about group play.

Oh and Start here for builds. That is where my examples came from. (http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=232660)

[Marlowe221]

Wow... that's a lot to take in all at once!

Yeah, relatively quick self-sufficiency is one of my goals. I don't like the idea of being entirely dependent on a healer or hireling to heal me.

[hermespan]

Hi folks,

After some searching it seems that most builds posted on the forums are very endgame focused. While that's definitely a good thing, some of us are still trying to get there!

I am looking for a melee build that is solo-capable. I really like grouping in this game but having the ability to do things on my own and not wait around on a group would be nice. Speed of quest completion is not important - I am one of those weirdos who reads all the quest dialogue and enjoys the atmosphere of the dungeons. Survivability/self-sufficiency is a concern (whether grouping or soloing).

I am a VIP but do not have 32-point builds. I have access to all races except Drow. I am not afraid of multi-class characters as long as I have a clear build plan to follow. My knowledge of game mechanics is meager but growing (just learned the hard way about the whole ghost touch thing soloing Catacombs on my Bard...).\

Any help?

Build for end game and instead of waiting for a group, start one. Even end game focused builds can solo and short-man quests with hirelings. A good build is going to be good most of the way when leveling.

In your LFM, when starting a group, put "I am a flower sniffing role player, no zerging or I'm piking" in the comments. Those keywords will set off the right switches in people's minds. you'll get plenty of people to join who are like minded.

If you get in quest and they start zerging, go AFK and get free xp, definitely don't put up with it. Then run the quest again so you can flower sniff and enjoy the quest.

[Impatiens]

Honestly, though I adore monks, I wouldn't recommend them for a first melee character with a 28 point build. Now, my first melee 28 point build was a monk, and I did have a lot of fun with her, but looking back I did so many things wrong. Monks are pretty complicated and need a lot of stats to be successful so it's better if you have a 32 point build available so you can put more points in those stats. I know someone in this thread said they were easy to start playing with, but I disagree.

Though I haven't played much with one, I think a Paladin might be a good option for a fairly easy to pick up solo-friendly melee build. They definitely have a lot going for them.

[Marlowe221]

Build for end game and instead of waiting for a group, start one. Even end game focused builds can solo and short-man quests with hirelings. A good build is going to be good most of the way when leveling.

In your LFM, when starting a group, put "I am a flower sniffing role player, no zerging or I'm piking" in the comments. Those keywords will set off the right switches in people's minds. you'll get plenty of people to join who are like minded.

If you get in quest and they start zerging, go AFK and get free xp, definitely don't put up with it. Then run the quest again so you can flower sniff and enjoy the quest.


So you're saying that the Fighter build with no self-healing option is ok? And I'm not talking about soloing epics here or anything... Just "flower-sniffing" leveling.

On another note - Dammit! You guys have me Monk-curious now... Just what I need...

[yawumpus]

Wow... that's a lot to take in all at once!

Yeah, relatively quick self-sufficiency is one of my goals. I don't like the idea of being entirely dependent on a healer or hireling to heal me.

Then I would look longer and closer at the ranger. Both the ranger and paladin can self heal (the paladin can no-fail heal in the middle of combat, that is important), but the ranger can also remove traps.

Since you have a VIP account, you can quickly grab up favor by running elite quests. The catch is that while a paladin can often take a trap in the face (they nearly always save), doing so on elite tends to be fatal. A ranger can simply clear out the traps (make sure you spend the points and have level-current gear) and finish the quest.

On the other hand, traps aren't as common as you would think, and such rangers can be expensive for a first toon (all kinds of weapons, full trap gear, items of just about every stat under the sun (rangers use them all, fighters barbarians, wizards, and sorcerers use 2). Make sure you read the "make money fast" thread before building a ranger.

[DrNuegebauer]

So you're saying that the Fighter build with no self-healing option is ok? And I'm not talking about soloing epics here or anything... Just "flower-sniffing" leveling.

On another note - Dammit! You guys have me Monk-curious now... Just what I need...

Yes it will be fine.

Just buy a stack of potions and learn to chug them

Also, just buy a hireling cleric whenever you need one - they will keep you up very well if you want to 'solo'.

[Impatiens]

So you're saying that the Fighter build with no self-healing option is ok? And I'm not talking about soloing epics here or anything... Just "flower-sniffing" leveling.

On another note - Dammit! You guys have me Monk-curious now... Just what I need...

I'd recommend getting the favor for a 32 point build with a paladin or fighter and then trying out the monk :)

[unbongwah]

IMHO, "ftr or barb + cleric hireling" != "self-sufficient." To me, a self-sufficient build is one which can kill mobs and keep itself alive with as little plat spent as possible and without relying on other chars (either PC or NPC). Hirelings can be quite useful (I use them all the time), but apart from the expense, they can also be stunned, feared, held, killed, etc. - i.e., rendered useless when you need them most. Anyone can guzzle Cure potions, but the cost adds up if you're still new to the game - I think a lot of vets have forgotten what it's like not to have a few million plat in the bank to twink your new chars with - and at higher lvls they're not sufficient to keep you alive, as you can quite literally be taking dmg faster than you can drink.

[Marlowe221]

IMHO, "ftr or barb + cleric hireling" != "self-sufficient." To me, a self-sufficient build is one which can kill mobs and keep itself alive with as little plat spent as possible and without relying on other chars (either PC or NPC). Hirelings can be quite useful (I use them all the time), but apart from the expense, they can also be stunned, feared, held, killed, etc. - i.e., rendered useless when you need them most. Anyone can guzzle Cure potions, but the cost adds up if you're still new to the game - I think a lot of vets have forgotten what it's like not to have a few million plat in the bank to twink your new chars with - and at higher lvls they're not sufficient to keep you alive, as you can quite literally be taking dmg faster than you can drink.

This is kinda my thought. I don't mind a hireling every now and then. But my highest level character in the game is a level 4 Bard with a grand total of 1,600 plat. I am poor. Someone was kind enough to give me a Ghost Touch weapon so I could finish Catacombs - I couldn't afford one on the AH.

Paladin seems like the answer so far - unless Fighters and Barbs can do damage so fast that they don't NEED healing. I was just under the impression that wasn't the case.

[Zillee]

When I started, I used to sell collectables on the AH to get the initial plat to buy gear for my fighter. Try running the House D depths quests a few times to pick up the deadly feverblanches and fragrant drowshoods. Pop into the haverdasher quest to see if you can get vials of water. Selling these will quickly get you the plat for a nice weapon and other gear at low levels (and the Depths quests are nice xp at low level too!)

[Standal]

This is kinda my thought. I don't mind a hireling every now and then. But my highest level character in the game is a level 4 Bard with a grand total of 1,600 plat. I am poor. Someone was kind enough to give me a Ghost Touch weapon so I could finish Catacombs - I couldn't afford one on the AH.

Paladin seems like the answer so far - unless Fighters and Barbs can do damage so fast that they don't NEED healing. I was just under the impression that wasn't the case.

If you want a fighter/barb and plat is a concern, hirelings are by far the cheapest purchased item. Pots are expensive for new toons. I never had a problem building plat slowly while using hirelings for solo quests.

You're in the melee forum and this isn't really what you asked for, but if you want to do melee damage with self healing consider either a Horc or WF FVS melee build. I've got a melee WF FVS and he rolled through the low levels solo. DPS starts to decline versus legit melees in the mid levels, but massive amounts of self healing make you pretty indestructible. Plus your healing will be strong enough to be the main healer for almost all quests.

[Kinerd]

Wow... that's a lot to take in all at once!

Yeah, relatively quick self-sufficiency is one of my goals. I don't like the idea of being entirely dependent on a healer or hireling to heal me.Self-sufficiency takes a lot of resources. I really recommend making a cookie cutter min/max THF barb/fighter and running with a hireling if you want to do things on your own. Paladin lay on hands is great, but you only get 1 to start and 5 max. You're not going to make it through a quest as a rookie with 1-2 heals per shrine. Hirelings are really, really, really (REALLY) dumb, but having a hireling healer will be much more effective than trying to squeeze keeping yourself alive and killing stuff out of a 28 point character with no gear and no money.

You will have to adjust your strategy as you get into late mid-game and end-game, but from how I read your first post this is the idea, to get a feel for the early game.

[aiastelmon]

I'm surprised no one mentioned a melee WF FvS. Nothing as solo survivable. Once you get death pact, not even death kills you:

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=268346

If you're 28 pt then lower the str and/or con a bit.

It says it's not a beginner build, but I had no real issues with it, and it's my main and first toon.

Another good thing is that you're very useful in raids if you choose to take part, and also good at solo'ing. And a new prestige enh. is coming soon that looks awfully nice for melee souls.

[yawumpus]

PS. Both rangers and paladins can heal. They can also use wands (cheaper than potions, more expensive than hirelings). THF (greatsword wielding) are going to be cheaper to equip than anything else, but lose out by using a single weapon (two handed fighting is usually a better idea for fighters and barbarians). You only have to supply a single weapon, and after level 14 you don't even have to worry about that. If you have unlocked drow, they make great two weapon paladins: google "junts paladin guide ddo" for details.

I still like rangers for soloing. Melee, healing, traps, ranged. A ranger defines self sufficiency.

[Feithlin]

The cheapest self sufficient character while keeping a nice dps is a warchanter imo. Bard have a lot of strong buffs, both offensively (song, rage, haste, heroism then GH) and defensively (ironskin song, blur, displacement). They also have good utility spells (expeditious retreat, haste, dimension door, invisibility). They also have the greatest CC in the game (fascinate song) even if they start with a low cha (and it's even better with a high cha).
They can cast most cure spells (if they have enough sp) and/or use freely cure wands with added efficacy (bard is the class with the best wand/scroll mastery). At higher levels, they can cast Heal without too much effort (39 UMD needed for non fail).
The only difficulty is that it's easy to gimp a bard character (like a rogue) so I advice to check your build in the forums before creating him.