The Immolator (A.k.a. The Abomination)

[CoasterHops]

Hi there everyone, it has been awhile since I have posted an actual build but I like to build wacky ones that can actually play pretty good at cap.

First off a shout out goes to Jortann as this build is based off his Fruidonkulous build as posted in the Spellcasters sub forum, his write up is also an excellent read so it's well worth taking a look.

I have a WF melee monk type legend build on khyber atm that is geared to the hilt, now playing WF melee is tough in this day and age but it is definately doable, now I was looking for a more heal friendly build for Smallmans next life and I wanted to stay WF, to make use of the Docents he has and because I think it would feel wrong to make him another race. So here it is The Immolator:

WarForged 15Druid,4mnk,1fighter. (36 point Legend build with 1mnk,2fighter past lives)

Very conservative standing stats, many will be higher at Lvl 25, note that I have also left out enhancement bonuses so there is definately more con/wisdom +2/+2 to be had than is noted here but I don't like to inflate the numbers too much having ship buffs noted here is almost too much for me:

Str: 16 - 16 base + 4 tome + 3 level ups + 8 gear + 2 ship + 2 Rams Might + 2/3 Insightful + 2 stance= 40
Dex: 14 - 14 base + 4 tome + 8 gear + 2 ship = 28
Con: 16 - 16 base + 4 tome + 8 gear + 2 ship = 30
Int: 9 - 9 base + 4 tome = 13
Wis: 15 - 15 Base + 4 tome + 8 gear + 3 level ups +2 ship -2 stance = 32
Cha: 6 - 6 Base + 3 tome + 7 item = 16

1. Monk: Toughness, Power Attk
2. Monk: Stunning Fist
3. Druid: Past Life Monk
4. Druid
5. Druid
6. Druid: TWF
7. Druid
8. Druid
9. Druid: Cleave
10. Druid
11. Druid
12. Druid: ITWF
13. Fighter: Impr. Crit Bludgeon
14. Druid
15. Druid: GTWF
16. Druid: Fire Elemental form
17. Druid
18. Druid: Great Cleave
19. Monk: Path of Harmonius Balance
20. Monk
21. Epic: Overwhelming Critical
22. Epic
23. Epic
24. Epic: One of Impr. Sunder/Extend/Maximise/Quicken/Evo Focus
25. Epic

So there is the basic layout of the build as for enhancements typically I will Take Toughnesses, Warforged Tactics, Warforged Healers Friend, Monk IMP Recovery I, Natures Warrior I & II, Fighter Haste Boost I, Fatal Harrier, and what ever else suits the build, will likely be some devotion and fire based stuff.

The idea behind the build is to run almost exclusively in Fire Elemental form at cap, TWF with handwraps, stunning fist and a tonne of fire based spells and effects, end game is no longer fire immune/resistant once upon a time a build like this would have struggled.

Not going to give a full spell layout but typically will take alot of the fire based stuff eg. Wall of fire, Body of the Sun, Fires of Purity, Firestorm as well as many other general use spells including Rams Might, Heal etc.

Stunning Fist DC = 10 + 12 half Lvl + 11 Wis mod + 10 stun item + 5 ex combat mastery + 2 fighter past lives + 3 WF Tactics + 6 Legendary Tactics = 59, 61 if running in water stance, could be as high as 63 if wisdom is bumped higher (end game numbers are very conservative there is at least an easy 2/3 points of wisdom from enhancements I have missed)

Heal amp in Fire Elemental form = 10% Monk, 25% Epic Jidz in fire stance, 30% PDK Gloves.

I believe one of the strengths of a build like this is it can perform in many different destinies these being Fury of the Wild, Legendary Dreadnought, Grandmaster of Flowers, Primal Avatar or even Draconic! When not running in Fury Typically my twists would be Sense Weakness (T4) Legendary Tactics (T1) and Dance of Flowers (T1) - Tactics and dance to be changed out for other Tier I twists when in the destiny that they are derived from, other options being Rejuvenating Cocoon, Unearthly Reflexes etc...

More to come...........

[CoasterHops]

A basic Level 20/21 Gear Layout:
Helm: Epic Helm of Frost
Necklace: Shintao Cord
Cloak: Epic Envenomed Cloak
Belt: TierIII Epic Spare Hand
Gloves: PDK gloves
Ring1: Epic Ring of the Stalker/Seal of House Dunrobar
Ring2: Kyoshos with Holyburst slotted
Boots: Epic Boots of Corrosion (Completes Greater Might of Abishai for 42 standing str, +3 natural armor & +3EvoCaster lvl - this set seems pretty decent on this type of build)
Bracers: Epic Jidz
Goggles: Epic Goggles of Time sensing (basically to remain hasted whilst soloing, also wisdom + slots)
Armor: Eberron Epic Red Dragon Docent (this build can make use of absolutely everything this armor has to offer)
Wraps: Primary wraps are Grave Wrappings, swap to Mabar/Crafted metal beaters when required.
Trinket: Epic Bloodstone

Note that this is a basic layout (i do have access to all of this) but one that has alot of synergy with the build. There is a huge number of slots to be slotted these slots to be filled with: Heavy Fort, (I wear MinII helm until cap) PRR, Sapphire of Health or Protection +7 or deathblock, Striding, Evocation Focus+2, Dexterity +6 or +7, Exceptional Dex 2. I think there is a couple of spots left over to fill as you please.

The great thing about being a WF Monk splash is you also have access to any of the Eveningstar Commendation turn in sets, so if you don't have an Epic Red dragon Docent you could opt for say the Full PDK Set (Docent, Helm, Gloves) ditch the abishai set and Slot the Epic Cloak of Flame from the Cannith Challenges as your fire enhancing item?
At the moment I have both the full PFK and full Sun Soul sets unlocked with Docents.

At level 23 - 25 Gear layouts obviously undergo changes, although essentially the level 20/21 gear layout would still serve you very well, the shear number of slots gives you everything you need without ever having to worry about siginificant gear swaps.


A possible gear set out for Level 25, although there is such a vast array of choices by this level that mixing and matching and getting what you want where you want it is always good.

Helm: Epic H/E Black Dragon Helm
Necklace: Epic H/E Jorgs Collar for soloing - Shintao when grouped.
Cloak: Epic Cloak of Flame
Belt: TierIII Epic Spare Hand
Gloves: PDK gloves
Ring1: Epic Ring of the Stalker/Seal of House Dunrobar
Ring2: Kyoshos with Holyburst slotted
Boots: Smoke 2 Greensteel - Epic H/E Spiked Boots
Bracers: Epic Jidz
Goggles: Epic Elite Dream Visor
Wraps: Fully Upgraded Antipodes Slotted with Devotion. (slot with combustion if going with different cloak) Grave Wrappings, EE Ivy Wraps, assorted metal crafted beaters, even Epic Elite Adamantine Knuckles for slot consolidation with stun 10 on dunrobar ring.
Trinket: Planar Focus of Prowess

Once again it is necessary to slot the missing essential build components, this set also has a fair number of slots so its not an issue.

ALTERNATIVES:
Basically what I have noted above is my version of the Immolator build but there are many variations to it that could be made to suit your playstyle, the most obvious change is Race.
Basically human, half elf, half orc or dwarf will all be good choices, I'm all about Stunning Fist so for me the Halfelf version with fighter Dili would probably be my fleshy choice, this would also net you superior heal amp, and dual Haste/Damage boosts.

The split is always changeable wether it be 13/6(dark monk for shadow fade)/1 or 16/3/1 there are a heap of options to alter it to what suits you and how you want to play it.

Personally the 15/4/1 suits me for the way I want to play it, but I would never claim that it is the optimal split or that Warforged are the optimal race for this. (obviously they aren't but they aren't terrible either, tactics is great for end game content)

[voodoogroves]

What does Druid 15 give you over 13?

Asking as I've not played a druid, so genuinely curious. Heal and Fires of Purity?

I've got a Monk 7 / Fighter 12 / Wizard 1 WF that I may end up TRing to run with a buddy, and this kind of build is appealing - I'd get to use my epic Claw / Jidz / Time Sensing / Blademarks / etc. and not suffer the heal amp pain (w/ Jidz + Claw + Monk being nifty w/o the WF penalty).

[CoasterHops]

What does Druid 15 give you over 13?

Asking as I've not played a druid, so genuinely curious. Heal and Fires of Purity?

I've got a Monk 7 / Fighter 12 / Wizard 1 WF that I may end up TRing to run with a buddy, and this kind of build is appealing - I'd get to use my epic Claw / Jidz / Time Sensing / Blademarks / etc. and not suffer the heal amp pain (w/ Jidz + Claw + Monk being nifty w/o the WF penalty).

Yep 15 is for Heal + Fires of purity, I dont see any issue with a 13/6/1 build, just that I want those two spells for mine. Basically once i finish the initial write up I'm going to post a few alternative builds, can't wait to rock this build with my Eberron Red Dragon Docent hehe.

[unbongwah]

Apologies if I missed this in your Wall o' Text spell, but: why monk 4 / ftr 1 instead of monk 3 / ftr 2? Is it just for the +0.5[W] from monk 4?

[voodoogroves]

Apologies if I missed this in your Wall o' Text spell, but: why monk 4 / ftr 1 instead of monk 3 / ftr 2? Is it just for the +0.5[W] from monk 4?

Well, the missing feat hurts some, but the biggest bonus to monk 4 for me is always the superhero pose....

[CoasterHops]

Apologies if I missed this in your Wall o' Text spell, but: why monk 4 / ftr 1 instead of monk 3 / ftr 2? Is it just for the +0.5[W] from monk 4?

Monk 4 nets the extra +0.5(W) + the max monk dodge bonus of 6%, but in all honesty I have tossed and turned over a 15/3/2 split and once i have capped it that may be the way I go, feats being pretty tight suggests that human is also a good fleshy choice, for me though WF will be the way to go.

My lvl 24 Feat is likely to be maximise, I havent done enhancement/skills but it's a maxed concentration build but if I had that spare feat it would probably be quicken (My contingency for a failed heal is silver flame pot) hehe... like I said when nearing cap I will decide of that extra feat is more important than the extra damage and dodge and it may boil down to how an individual plays the toon, the nice thing is you don't really have to make that decision until lvl 19 and maybe make a feat swap before hitting 20 if you decide you want the extra combat feat.

Its one of those things I guess, if you don't have a monk past life then maybe the 15/4/1 split is a good way to go as you have an extra feat to spend.

Edit: I have just TR'd my main and am on my way up so I have made some base changes to the build this includes, levelling order (2 monk levels first) and stat spread. So have made some tweaks to the original post. Atm I am going to leave it as the original split but I'm starting to lean towards if you take the past life monk feat then the split is 15/3/2 and if you don't take it the split is 15/4/1.

At the moment I am at level 4 and of course as expected of any TR monk type build it is ripping it up, I am going to stone this toon at level 8, so I won't get too much of a feel of how it plays mid range (got a heap of greenteel and quality accessories so I imagine it would play fine) but I am looking forward to how it plays solo lvls 18 - 20, will post regular updates.

[voodoogroves]

I know NOTHING of how unarmed interacts w/ wild shapes - I assume the TWF feats still apply, as well as cleaves (I note you took them)

[FalexiaSutter]

I know NOTHING of how unarmed interacts w/ wild shapes - I assume the TWF feats still apply, as well as cleaves (I note you took them)

I don't believe that TWF feats apply to druid animal form attacks. I'm pretty sure that the shield mastery feats apply, but the TWF and THF ones do nothing.

Check here for more: http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=381174

But if he is running in elemental form then it doesn't really matter.

[CoasterHops]

I don't believe that TWF feats apply to druid animal form attacks. I'm pretty sure that the shield mastery feats apply, but the TWF and THF ones do nothing.

Check here for more: http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=381174

But if he is running in elemental form then it doesn't really matter.

Yep end game I'm definately running as a fire elemental, I'm about to hit lvl 7 and really enjoying running in wolf form (not like I have the twf line completed yet anyways) and getting some nice pot heals. (Jidz 25% + Blood Docent + 10% ship)

Really enjoying it, I'm starting to see other builds starting to come out using the WF Druid concept, A bear Tank has come to mind, Max'd con, Warforged hate enhancements etc. I know that it sort of seems funny but if you have a warforged melee and you want to make something that is fun and can be fully healed then a WF Druid hybrid doesn't seem such a bad idea.

Theres always the odd time when being warforged is beneficial too:
During Elite Deleras Pt. 2, solo swim, I switch out of wolf form to fight the orange named wraith thingy (lol) this thing can neg level quite proficiently on elite and when you are Lvl 6 this can cause issues, being warforged solved this problem, morphed back to wolf after killing the other mobs/orange names and doggy paddled back to party.

On a side note I am now thinking Overwhelming critical or not? It's one of those things dropping the O/C line would net me still using the 15/4/1 split the feats quicken, maximise, empower heal and Epic Toughness.
I have picked up the feat past life monk atm as per the original build but it may be that I end up dropping it so I can grab both quicken and maximise. Of course if build is 15/3/2 can pick up quicken/maximise/empower heal and the O/C line. I think the O/C line is important if Legendary Dreadnaught is your goto destiny, for me this is still a work in progress more updates to come.

[CoasterHops]

UPDATE:

I have just stoned this toon to Lvl 18 and I'm enjoying how it plays, one thing the build definately needs though is quicken.

So I'm tossing up at the moment wether the split is 15Dr/4mnk/1fight with no past life monk feat, which means both quicken and maximise at lvl 24 or if I roll with the 15Dr/3mnk/2fight with the past life monk feat.

4 monk levels Vs. 3 monk levels nets an additonal 2% dodge, but is the die damage the same? If so the 15/4/1 seems to be the superior split. Gonna test it all and check it all, I am really looking forward to seeing how this build plays at 20 and beyond!

[CoasterHops]

UPDATE:

I am having an absolute blast playing this toon, apart from one eveningstar first chain group I have run it almost exclusively solo and it is handling all the epic hard content.
I am running epic hards at the moment as whilst levelling to 25 I am also levelling destinies, I will still be levelling destinies at 25 too but will have a decent base set to tacle EE content once at cap and fully geared.

At the moment I am levelling GMOF from scratch at lvl 20, with a +6 wisdom item and +1 exc. wisdom I am running a 63 stun fist dc in water stance and Tier IV of GMOF.

Solo quests completed all before lvl 22:
EH Servants of the Overlord - Last fight used to pots for self healing on the Hezrou, otherwise no issues.
EH Offering of Blood
EH Chains of Flames
EH Chamber of Rayium
EH Von 3 - Get to beholders, switch out of Fire Elemental form to Warforged, laugh in beholders faces. Same with Groktin the Red name beholder.

Those are probably the quests of note, all other epic quests have been done on hard first.

Atm I am Tier IV GMOF with twists of: Legendary Tactics, Primal Scream and Fast Healing.

Will be looking at posting a real final gear set and build soonish, the toon feels a little light on HP at the moment, so maybe an Epic White Dragon set for some HP which would also allow me to hit a 90 or so AC.

[savingsoul]

One thing I noticed is that a base strength of 16, +4 tome, and 2 level ups will only give you 22, which is not enough to qualify for Overwhelming Critical, so perhaps you should pass it up like you considered.

In any case, I was surprised at the way that you managed to fit in all the feats you have compared to the 2F/6M/12D, 1F/6M/13D, and 2F/9M/9D builds. I figured out though that this is because (1) you only take 4 levels of monk, which does not require dodge for Ninja I; (2) you can get a away without maximize/empower healing because you have the heal spell.

As far as my criticisms of the build go:
(a) since you put most of your level ups into wisdom, and are at least attempting to do offensive spells, I'm curious how the dc's are procing on this build, especially if you are taking natures warrior II rather than nature's herald II. Nature's warrier I & II are kind of weak if you are not using animal form, as you only get +2d6 damage which only functions when the enemy's health <50%. The prerequisites for nature's warrior II are weak as well. If you are investing four level ups into wisdom and casting offensive spells, it would seem to make more sense to go with nature's herald II.
(b) 4 rather than 2 levels of monk for +.5[W]=.5[1d6]=1.5 are not worth losing another level 8 spell slot (for i.e. earthquake) plus access to water ele form and level 9 spells (i.e. mantle of the icy soul).

[savingsoul]

I've updated my Stunning Beauty build with inspiration from The Immolator (A.k.a. The Abomination). Thanks!

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?p=4963612

[CoasterHops]

One thing I noticed is that a base strength of 16, +4 tome, and 2 level ups will only give you 22, which is not enough to qualify for Overwhelming Critical, so perhaps you should pass it up like you considered.

In any case, I was surprised at the way that you managed to fit in all the feats you have compared to the 2F/6M/12D, 1F/6M/13D, and 2F/9M/9D builds. I figured out though that this is because (1) you only take 4 levels of monk, which does not require dodge for Ninja I; (2) you can get a away without maximize/empower healing because you have the heal spell.

As far as my criticisms of the build go:
(a) since you put most of your level ups into wisdom, and are at least attempting to do offensive spells, I'm curious how the dc's are procing on this build, especially if you are taking natures warrior II rather than nature's herald II. Nature's warrier I & II are kind of weak if you are not using animal form, as you only get +2d6 damage which only functions when the enemy's health <50%. The prerequisites for nature's warrior II are weak as well. If you are investing four level ups into wisdom and casting offensive spells, it would seem to make more sense to go with nature's herald II.
(b) 4 rather than 2 levels of monk for +.5[W]=.5[1d6]=1.5 are not worth losing another level 8 spell slot (for i.e. earthquake) plus access to water ele form and level 9 spells (i.e. mantle of the icy soul).

Hi thanks for the comments, I have found I am one strength short at end game so I am going to LR and put one additional level up into strength (will need to fix first post) the idea with having a wisdom of 40 odd at end game isn't for DC's, its all for stunning fist, having a stunning fist of 65 or so at 25 is such a huge adavantage in top tier content when meleeing.

As for 4 monk vs. 2 monk its is an additional die step, fists of light finishers, (which i have the right amount of ki to use for 25% less spell points at start of each quest for buffing) a 6% dodge (monk max dodge is 6% at TierIV) and faster movement of 5%.

Getting meaningful DCs for end game content would mean alot of investment, maxed wisdom, sorceror past lives, twists etc. admittedly it would be nice but I think its outside of the realm of this hybrid build, plus I love meleeing.

For me the build was all about taking my old Warforged melee toon (could have made a Juggernaut but wanted something different) and making something fun and effective. At the moment I use varying tactics dependent on the situation but have yet to find a situation that this toon cant handle at least on epic hard.

The great thing about firewall is the mobs only get one save on first tick after that they take full damage, so one of my main tactics is cast Body of the Sun on self, hit a group of mobs, lay down a firewall, throw out some stuns, go to town with melee.
This results in: Body of the sun ticks: 100 saved 200 when not saved, Firewall ticks 3 - 400, and my melee damage, stunned mobs taking additional damage from the fire too.

Another method is use when confronted with big hitters is a sleet storm (Body of the Sun still works) an icestorm then go in stun and go to town, this method is slower than the firewall method but means alot less incoming damage.

I also keep the creeping cold spells for dots and firestorms as another lead out spell on a group of mobs.

The idea of going Natures Warrior vs Herald is for the use of either Reavers Roar or Fatal Harrier, I absolutely love Fatal Harrier and couldn't see myself giving it up.

At the end of the day the build I'm offering is a variant on other melee druid builds, this one fits my play style (primarily melee but with spell ticks that do considerable damage and self healing) but I can see many other similar builds/splits to suit others play styles.

[savingsoul]

Thanks for your answers.

For some reason, I thought that reaver's roar required animal form, but the ddowiki doesn't mention any requirement along those lines. That is nice to have.

I guess the crux here is how quickly you can cast and recast the heal spell. Otherwise, I would suggest that your playstyle is much better suited to winter wolf form and natural fighting x 3 than to fire elemental form and the twf chain. That way you could tap into celerity and shreik. You would get 1d10 17-20x3 crit w/ improved crit: bludgeoning + 2d6 SA + 30% attack speed. Your wolf special attacks would have reasonable dc's as well. Seems like a lot to pass up for a melee focused build.

Another thing I noticed is that you are using fire stance. Seems counter-productive. You are putting four level-ups into wisdom only to lose two from your stance. Con is no doubt important, but perhaps wind stance would be best because it doesn't compromise either of your most important stats -- wis and str.

[CoasterHops]

Thanks for your answers.

For some reason, I thought that reaver's roar required animal form, but the ddowiki doesn't mention any requirement along those lines. That is nice to have.

I guess the crux here is how quickly you can cast and recast the heal spell. Otherwise, I would suggest that your playstyle is much better suited to winter wolf form and natural fighting x 3 than to fire elemental form and the twf chain. That way you could tap into celerity and shreik. You would get 1d10 17-20x3 crit w/ improved crit: bludgeoning + 2d6 SA + 30% attack speed. Your wolf special attacks would have reasonable dc's as well. Seems like a lot to pass up for a melee focused build.

Another thing I noticed is that you are using fire stance. Seems counter-productive. You are putting four level-ups into wisdom only to lose two from your stance. Con is no doubt important, but perhaps wind stance would be best because it doesn't compromise either of your most important stats -- wis and str.

I'm actually running it in varied stances dependent on the situation, in content when i need a high stun DC i run in water or If i need the saves, before cap i ran alot in wind, some content I run in fire (Epic Jidz +25% heal amp) this tends to be in content without alot of stunnable mobs. (Eg. Epic Wiz King) Once I find a good set of Convalescent Bracers with Superior Parrying and a slot, I will primarily run in water stance. I don't really need the to hit and prefer the extra stun and saves.

Im unsure about the wolf form situation, I feel that it maybe slower atacks than a fire elemental with the twf chain, it was definately fun levelling with though. I'm also not too keen on extended cooldowns on my heal spell.

The great thing about the Druid/monk variants is they are adaptable to how you want to play, can be varied in splits and theres no one race that shines as the must be race to make them work. I think the main thing is to make them both fun and effective, alot of it can be gear dependent but I'm also looking forward to making a Fleshy variant that makes use of the frozen tunic and the cold spells. Maybe Human 17Druid/2mnk/1fighter or Wiz. Or half elf with fighter dilli as I really like a high stunning DCs.

Basically my first post was how I thought of building it and some of my later posts have info about how I have varied it. I have updated some of the first post though.

[~Smallmans]

Thought I might bump this, at cap (lvl 25) and with some destinies it's playing pretty good.

I am working on another toon atm, WF 12Wiz,6Fighter,2Mnk - Really enjoying it so I will make a thread on it soon.