Warforged 32pt Virtuoso 17 bard / 2 fighter / 1 artificer - critique please

[Karsain]

Hello,

Motivation

I would like to create a good Warforged Virtuoso bard build for myself in the semi-static team of 2-4 players. This character is not to rely on raid equipment and it is to be able to melee decently, CC very well and should be able to resurrect the team if it really goes wrong.

Mostly the goal is a decent 'melee/support' character, hard to disable / kill, very versatile and viable to grind his own True Heart of Wood for the inevitable TR.

Warforged is a requirement (all-WF team of 4 players). Traps have been deliberately omitted; I play with my wife who is a rogue and we will additionally have an artificer in team.

Of all bard types Virtuoso is for me the most appealing one - Capering allows me to disable enemy spellcasters and Enthrallment with insane DC means House Cannith hard / Mindsunder elite become possible even with accidental AoE here and there. And the songs' pool rarely ends between shrines (tested on Virt18).

I have access to most packs (including Artificers), but we don't raid yet. In this build I did not list any equipment we cannot get.

Build


Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 03.11.02
DDO Character Planner Home Page (http://www.rjcyberware.com/DDO)

Soundwave build
Level 20 True Neutral Warforged Male
(2 Fighter \ 17 Bard \ 1 Artificer)
Hit Points: 330
Spell Points: 678
BAB: 14\14\19\24
Fortitude: 14
Reflex: 9
Will: 15

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Abilities Base Stats Modified Stats
(32 Point) (Level 1) (Level 20)
Strength 18 26
Dexterity 8 8
Constitution 18 22
Intelligence 8 10
Wisdom 6 6
Charisma 12 16

Tomes Used
+2 Tome of Strength used at level 7
+2 Tome of Constitution used at level 7
+2 Tome of Intelligence used at level 7
+2 Tome of Charisma used at level 7

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Base Skills Modified Skills
Skills (Level 1) (Level 20)
Balance 3 22
Bluff 1 3
Concentration 8 29
Diplomacy 1 7
Disable Device n/a n/a
Haggle 1 19
Heal -2 -2
Hide -1 -1
Intimidate 1 3
Jump 6 16
Listen -2 2
Move Silently -1 -1
Open Lock n/a n/a
Perform 5 35
Repair -1 0
Search -1 0
Spot -2 -2
Swim 4 8
Tumble 1 1
Use Magic Device 5 29

Level 1 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness


Level 2 (Bard)


Level 3 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Extend Spell


Level 4 (Bard)


Level 5 (Bard)


Level 6 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Skill Focus: Perform
Enhancement: Bard Extra Song I
Enhancement: Bard Extra Song II
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Attack I
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage I
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song I
Enhancement: Bard Virtuoso I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Improved Perform I
Enhancement: Improved Perform II
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music I
Enhancement: Bard Charisma I
Enhancement: Bard Charisma II
Enhancement: Bard Wand and Scroll Mastery I
Enhancement: Warforged Healer's Friend I


Level 7 (Bard)


Level 8 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Attack II
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage II
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II


Level 9 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Skill Focus: Use Magic Device


Level 10 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Extra Song III
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song II
Enhancement: Bard Wand and Scroll Mastery II


Level 11 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Music of the Dead
Enhancement: Bard Wand and Scroll Mastery III


Level 12 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons
Enhancement: Bard Virtuoso II


Level 13 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Wand and Scroll Mastery IV
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution I


Level 14 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Power Attack
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution II


Level 15 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Force of Personality
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage III
Enhancement: Fighter Toughness I


Level 16 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Improved Sunder
Enhancement: Fighter Strength I


Level 17 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Attack III


Level 18 (Bard)
Feat: (Selected) Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons
Enhancement: Racial Toughness III


Level 19 (Bard)
Enhancement: Artificer Damage Boost I
Enhancement: Fighter Haste Boost I


Level 20 (Bard)
Enhancement: Bard Extra Song IV
Enhancement: Bard Music of Makers
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack I




HP Breakdown

Base HP: 270
+2 Con tome: 290
Enhancements: 330
Draconic Vitality (Argonessen): 340
Quorforged Docent of Battle (Unsuppressed): 460
Rage: 480

This enhancement layout already incorporates Bard Extra Song IV so when possible to take it might be worth it to swap SF:Perform to second Toughness (+12 HP) or any other useful feat (no idea which one though).

UMD Breakdown



skill rank:..........23
cha bonus:.......... +6
SF:UMD:..............+3
+2 scrolls (arti):...+2
...................------
.....................34 unbuffed
Greater Heroism......+4
Voice of the Master..+1
...................------
.....................39


And if necessary (death penalties...), +3 Golden Cartouche for 42.

Leveling

13 levels -> bard, for Virt2 and Greater Heroism.
1 -> fighter, the fastest possible
1 -> artificer, to bump scroll UMD as high as possible
1 -> fighter
4 -> bard. Complete the skills.

This build becomes 'complete' at level 18 (perform and UMD as if there never was a splash).

Equipment

- Terror greatsword as the main weapon (augmented by IC:Slash + Improved Sunder (fort) + possible Enhrallment (will))
- DR breakers as necessary.
- Quorforged docent is just a matter of time, unless it is a very rare drop.
- Will use +6 STR and +6 Cha items. Possibly Magewright's Cloak.
- No access to Mabar / Cove items.
- Lack of ConcOpp / Torc / Bauble / Ring of Spell Storing. Basically, lack of mana regeneration options.

Why this splash

Fighter gives me:
- 2 more combat feats (allows me to -> Warchanter if necessary and gives Improved Sunder)
- martial weapons (no more need for Master's Touch)
- +1 STR enhancement (which I can use to make STR equal at level 20 without any +Exceptional Strength)
- +8 base HP (d10 vs d6)
- +10 enhancement HP
- other enhancements

Artificer gives me:
- +2 UMD to scrolls
- +1 scroll level (+10 HP for reconstruct spell).
- crossbow amplification feats (when I am really desperate)
- 25 spell points.
- emm... Enchant Weapon infusion (+1 enchant) when "our" arti is not here?
- Echoes of Power (when REALLY desperate)

I lose from not being a pure bard:
- 20% longer songs (bonus from virt)
- 5 extra songs (exactly bonus from virt)
- Mass Suggestion Song (doesn't work with Enthrallment anyway)
- 2 cha -> +1 UMD, +1 will save (artificer increases UMD further, will save is lost)
- spell DC (doesn't matter on this build)
- 75 spell points (plus spell points from Charisma).

Weakness

I noticed Capering doesn't work a lot of times when Irresistible Dance would (mostly in Amrath). I also noticed Enthrallment is often useless in Amrath. This is one adventure pack which makes me feel I am useful only for buffing and reconstruct scrolls.
I might need +4 INT spell on myself due to artificer's scroll bonus limitation to INT-10.

Summary

Please, feel free to critique. This is my first build and I am sure there are many things which can be made so much better. I am thick-skinned and I want to learn.

I really really REALLY need no-equipment-change high UMD. Although I have decent situational awareness as a player, I am not very nimble and so even "F2 to target a player, H to equip a recon. scroll, H to cast a recon. scroll" might be too slow sometimes. If I need to change an item to get higher UMD I might forget it in the heat of the battle.

Warforged has one main advantage - no negative levels from beholders / clerics. This is huge for UMD-reliant build if we don't have a cleric in the team and we need to rely on Althea The Hireling for our Deathward.

Thank you for reading.

Yours,
~Karsain.

------
EDIT: I added 20 more HP in breakdown by accident

[Gorbadoc]

For what it's worth, there are bugs in both Sustaining Song and in the spellsinger's SP regen song-- something about them overwriting each other and just plain not working on warforged. I forgot the details. It's a bug that doesn't seem to be a high priority for the devs to fix.

[karl_k0ch]

Why 17 bard?

In addition to what Gorbadoc said, Artificer also has a lot more synergies as a buffing and supporting class than bard has. UMDing will be much easier. Healing yourself and your companions will be easier - possibly with a bard splash if you really can't omit Fascinate.

Your CC songs will only work if the party is very aware of that tactical option.

[Karsain]

Bugs of bard / warforged

I am aware that there are some 'limitations' with Sustaining Song and SP Recovery Song against Warforged (someone wrote it on forums). Thank you for adding this information though :-).


Why bard instead of artificer

- I have a bard lv18, human Classic Rocker turned Virtuoso with SF:UMD. I know how does it 'feel' to play this character. In the current team (fleshies, 28pts) - rogue + Ice Savant sorc + bard I am quite useful as a support and melee AND I have lots of fun and use (after I changed to Virt they asked me not to return to Warchanter - CC is really important for us; without a shred of a raid equipment we've downed Blown to Bits Hard (without golem - we couldn't outdamage the regeneration) and Mindsunder Elite supplied by 3 hirelings without reentries or mnemonic pots (though I was kiting Quori while the rogue downed Mindsunder)).
I guess CCing with bard is simply my favourite playstyle.


- Even if Enthrallment is breakable, with DC of ~55 which Karsain sports enemies save only on 20. It is not unusual for our team to send me forward with Enthrallment to CC a group of mobs, then the sorc casts wail (with his low DC most enemies save in high level elites - working on it) and as this is only one 'hit', enemies remain Enthralled. In case something extremely dangerous makes a save (Bladesworn Paladin) I simply use Song of Capering and disable him to let the rogue (assassinate) and sorc destroy it (with me helping).
And usually some enemies do not break Enthrallment even after an Ice Storm.


- The guaranteed static part of this team is my wife who plays a rogue. There are also: an artificer (who will play with us sometimes) and a wizard who will try a monk (plays sometimes). Thus 2-4 players. Both rogue and artificer (and monk) will gain a nice boost from Inspired Courage and Inspire Greatness and rogue especially will benefit from having another melee to open sneak attacks. Artificer has awesome boosts - but I think the team will gain more having both (and I strongly think this build stands on its own, not only in such a party).


- My bard is melee. I don't know artificers very well, no idea how viable is it to make a melee artificer able to match a bard in melee (I don't say it is impossible, simply I don't know how to do it). Besides... I, personally, am not too keen on pets and ranged combat (two major strong points of an artificer). I would love to have 3 passive artificer past lives though ;-).


- Artificer has self-healing from mana in form of repair spells. If I had a torc or a ConcOpp item it would be more of an option, but as it stands now I would deplete my SP pool instantly. I vastly prefer to buff every partymate with long standing buffs and use a situational Displacement if necessary - if I see hitpoints being low I prefer to scroll-heal. Expensive, but I have a lv18 char which will farm me plat if necessary (Giant's Vault till Ransack).


- From partying point of view: there are many artificers lately, having strong repair skills and far better equipment than I can get (don't believe my join date, I am here for less than a year). Those artificers might want a WF bard in the party before taking n+1-th artificer for synergy. Especially one who understands what 'tactics' is ;-).


- We will hit epics (House P and D, reading the forums) eventually, simply to TR. We know that our wiz won't be able to CC reliably there, but I think bard can do it (if I don't know something - for example 'all epic monsters are immune to Enthrallment and Capering', please tell me). We are not very keen to raid as we still learn this game and don't want to be yelled at too much. I really think in those cases and those configurations a bard will be better than second artificer. Especially as I don't know how will not-well-geared artificer fare in epics (not-well-geared bard is, as far as I noticed, usually useful due to insane DCs of Enthrallment and always nice buffing songs).


Additional comments

Now: I think this build is stronger than what my Karsain does and I love playing that character. I really think this build can be viable not only for me but for people having a similar playstyle to mine. When I hit 32pts build I will probably roll it (unless anyone proposes something superior to this build) and I will be able to update this thread - I have learned a lot from other build threads (of all classes) so maybe my comments will be helpful to someone too, at least 'don't EVER do it that way'.

As I cannot level to 20 (waiting for one character to catch up to lv 15, so we are stuck at 18 for a month already) I cannot predict the viability of Virtuoso in "easy epics". I know Virt is not very useful in raids (and Amrath / DevilAssault / any bosses), but this is a tradeoff I can make. There's the rest of the team for that.

In case I am wrong and Virtuoso used that way simply won't work I can ignore CC and turn Warchanter. Or if I decide I will never be a Warchanter I have 2 feats to switch (WF: Slashing and SF: Perform). This build is very flexible; I will find a niche for myself. If you find a better use for 2 feats, enhancement I forgot, a different splash I could make or some piece of equipment I should get feel free to tell me.


Thank you for your insight.

[Valindria]

<Virts in epic questions>

Enthrall and Capering work well in epics. They don't work on Orange names on up, but other than that sometimes they are better as Capering does not require a spell pen check and has an awesome range.

Sustaining song leaves a little to be desired in epics but in things like snitch where you run around alot it allows you to keep moving after taking some damage.

I personally don't care for your build but if you are happy with it that's all that matters. I just love pure bards and in this case human for virts.

[BoBoDaClown]

You need to splash one more level. 17 bard gets you very little.

See what a 3rd fighter or 2nd artificer level gets you.

[Lifespawn]

You need to splash one more level. 17 bard gets you very little.

See what a 3rd fighter or 2nd artificer level gets you.

second arty would get rune arm use