Advice on Human Warchanter

[monstercloset]

Total newbie when it comes to building characters (I normally just grab builds from the forum), just want some input on this human warchanter:

Level 20 Chaotic Good Human Male
(2 Fighter / 2 Rogue / 16 Bard)
Hit Points: 290
Spell Points: 565

BAB: 15/15/20/25/25
Fortitude: 11
Reflex: 17
Will: 9

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Abilities Base Stats Modified Stats
(32 Point) (Level 1) (Level 20)
Strength 16 22
Dexterity 15 18
Constitution 15 16
Intelligence 8 8
Wisdom 8 8
Charisma 14 18

Tomes Used
+2 Tome of Dexterity used at level 17

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Base Skills Modified Skills
Skills (Level 1) (Level 20)
Balance 6 27
Bluff 2 4
Concentration 4 5
Diplomacy 2 4
Disable Device n/a n/a
Haggle 6 27
Heal 1 1
Hide 2 4
Intimidate 6 13
Jump 7 29
Listen -1 -1
Move Silently 2 4
Open Lock n/a n/a
Perform n/a 28
Repair -1 -1
Search -1 -1
Spot -1 -1
Swim 3 6
Tumble 6 12
Use Magic Device 6 27

Level 1 (Rogue)
Skill: Balance (+4)
Skill: Concentration (+2)
Skill: Haggle (+4)
Skill: Heal (+2)
Skill: Intimidate (+4)
Skill: Jump (+4)
Skill: Tumble (+4)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+4)
Feat: (Human Bonus) Oversized Two Weapon Fighting
Feat: (Selected) Two Weapon Fighting
Enhancement: Rogue Damage Boost I
Enhancement: Rogue Haste Boost I
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training I

Level 2 (Fighter)
Skill: Intimidate (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Khopesh

Level 3 (Bard)
Skill: Perform (+6)
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack
Spell (1): Cure Light Wounds
Enhancement: Bard Extra Song I
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Bravery I
Enhancement: Fighter Critical Accuracy I
Enhancement: Human Improved Recovery I
Enhancement: Improved Perform I

Level 4 (Bard)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+3)
Spell (1): Focusing Chant
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage I
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song I
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music I
Enhancement: Bard Charisma I

Level 5 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+3)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Maagic Device (+1)
Spell (1): Expeditious Retreat
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Attack I
Enhancement: Human Adaptability Strength I

Level 6 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Jump (+2)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons
Spell (2): Cure Moderate Wounds
Spell (2): Heroism
Enhancement: Human Improved Recovery II

Level 7 (Bard)
Skill: Haggle (+2)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Spell (1): Feather Fall
Spell (2): Rage
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Bravery II

Level 8 (Bard)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Haggle (+3)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Bard Warchanter I
Enhancement: Bard Charisma II

Level 9 (Rogue)
Skill: Balance (+3)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+2)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Power Critical
Enhancement: Rogue Dexterity I

Level 10 (Fighter)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Dodge
Enhancement: Bard Extra Song II
Enhancement: Fighter Strength I

Level 11 (Bard)
Skill: Jump (+2)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+3)
Spell (2): Blur
Spell (3): Cure Serious Wounds
Spell (3): Haste
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage II
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song II

Level 12 (Bard)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+3)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons
Spell (3): Good Hope
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Attack II

Level 13 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+2)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+2)
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Bravery III

Level 14 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+2)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Spell (3): Displacement
Spell (4): Cure Critical Wounds
Spell (4): Freedom of Movement
Enhancement: Human Greater Adaptability Constitution I

Level 15 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+2)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness
Spell (4): Otto's Sphere of Dancing
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I

Level 16 (Bard)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Balance (+2)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Bard Warchanter II
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancemment: Bard Charisma III

Level 17 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+2)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Spell (4): Dimension Door
Spell (5): Greater Heroism
Spell (5): Mass Suggestion
Enhancement: Racial Toughness III
Enhancement: Fighter Toughness I

Level 18 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Weapon Fighting
Spell (5): Shadow Walk
Enhancement: Bard Extra Song III

Level 19 (Bard)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Enhancement: Bard Extra Song IV

Level 20 (Bard)
Ability Raise: CHA
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Perform (+1)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Spell (1): Detect Secret Doors
Spell (6): Heroes Feast
Spell (6): Otto's Irresistible Dance
Spell (5): Greater Dispel Magic
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song III
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music II

[Aerendil]

Didn't look at every single detail, but did want to comment on a few things that jumped out at me:

1) 16/2/2 splash is quite popular, however, you'll need to choose which type of armour you're aiming for. One of the benefits of a /2 rogue splash is for Evasion, as well as trap skills. You'll potentially have neither (since 12+ Warchanters have access to Medium armour, which you'll probably want to wear).
Definitely keep some points into Open Lock, since it's generally not required to keep maxed anyways; Disable Device is much harder to keep maxed, since you'll generally also need Search and Spot (all of which are cross-class skills). Not sure what to tell you there, but keep in mind groups may be a bit surprised when you tell them you can't find traps. Or disarm them. Or open the locked chest.

If neither Evasion or trapskills are important to you, I'd probably ditch the /2 Rogue splash altogether and go 18/2.

2) feats: I'd be sure to pick up Greater Two-Weapon Fighting (aka GTWF). It's a huge bonus for anyone going with two weapons. You can probably ditch Dodge (as you won't have any dodge % anyways as a Bard, and a mere 3% isn't going to make or break you), as well as Power Critical.
Go with GTWF and one other - perhaps Extend or Maximize to make use of your spells (which you'll still use, even as a Warchanter - you can heal and buff, after all!).

3) stat allocation looks good. I might lower Cha by 2, and up Con to 16 - Bards are generally squishy, and every point of hit points helps. As a melee Bard, Cha 12 should be sufficient for you.

4) I'd maybe look at squeezing Toughness in earlier than level 15. That's 3/4 of your heroic life without a ton of hps. Ouch.

[Anthios888]

1 - overwhelming critical (once it's fixed) will add major DPS to your build. If you're not going to be a strong healer/crowd controller, it's good to be a good melee and fit this in. You need cleave and great cleave to qualify.

2 - oversized two weapon fighting, power critical, and dodge would be good feats to drop. The overall benefit from overwhelming critical (and not to mention the fun of big numbers) will be a bigger contributor than these small bonus feats.

3 - greater two weapon fighting or go home

4 - invest in wand and scroll mastery, as it's a good source of healing and is one of your only sources of healing. I always max it as a rule, but you can decide what works for you.

Note that overwhelming critical does not work yet, but it's still good to plan for the long term when it does work.

I suggest trying fury of the wild, since you qualify for everything while raged.

Bard love!

[cru121]

alignment: consider true neutral

spells: I don't think you need the best cure spells asap. Especially if you don't have any metamagic feat for them. My priority to get asap: Expeditious Retreat before CLW, Blur before CMW (you could use scrolls I guess), displacement before CSW, dimension door before otto's sphere; get mass CLW before mass suggestion, get mass CMW

enhancements:
* drop bard charisma I-III, extra song I-IV; extra spell points
* max lingering song, wand mastery, possibly song magic

feats (1 human + 7 levels +2 fighter +2 epic): Toughness, WF:Slash, PA, 3x TWF, IC:Slash, Khopesh, Extend, Empower Healing, Inspire Excellence (21), free (24)

Overwhelming critical adds up to 7.4% DPS to khopesh users (if DDOWiki description is correct and my math doesn't suck). Not sure if it's worth the 3 feats.

I would actually go 16/3/1, -1 fighter +1 rogue, take moderate int and do traps.

[monstercloset]

Thinking of reworking this, either dropping some CHA in favor of INT for rogue skills, or dropping the rogue levels altogether and splashing barbarian. Also making room for GTWF... is the khopesh proficiency worth it, and if it is would it be better to grab it at a higher level since it's more for endgame anyway?

[unbongwah]

1 - overwhelming critical (once it's fixed) will add major DPS to your build. If you're not going to be a strong healer/crowd controller, it's good to be a good melee and fit this in. You need cleave and great cleave to qualify.
That's basically what I'm doing on my dwarf bard 16 / ftr 2 / barb 2 (http://forums.ddo.com/showpost.php?p=4573270&postcount=9) (would also work for rogue splash builds): Toughness, TWF x3, PA, WF:S, Cleave, GC, IC:Slash, OC:Slash, Inspire Excellence. Human can use the extra feat to take khopesh.