The Stonehenge (efficient, dragonmarked caster)

[Gnarkh]

This build is not dragonmarked anymore :D. If a moderator reads this, please change the title to:
"The Stonehenge (efficient survival caster)"

May I present the all new...

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The Stonehenge
Dwarven Druid 17, Favored Soul 2, Wizard 1
True Neutral

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Playstyle: Spell point efficient offensive and support caster with excellent survivability and great CC, debuffing and healing capabilities. Control aggro with Intimidate. Fun zerger as well...gather mobs, drop AoE, watch everything turn into a helpless, slow moving pile of goo...gather even more mobs while spells are on cooldown, rinse & repeat.

Strengths: PRR, amazing hit point pool, huge SP pool, temp SP with Just Rewards, self sufficiency. Decent will and fortitude saves, especially against magic effects.

Weaknesses: No evasion, terrible reflex save, loses some DCs and caster levels for the splash, little dodge.

The build should be quite newbie and first live friendly. It's an 'early bloomer', the longest part of the heroic levels you'll progress as a pure druid and will be a welcome asset to every party as a healer or self sufficient zerger. After level 15 you start specializing for more spell points, defense and spell efficiency. Only prerequisite obviously is unlocking the Favored Soul and Druid classes.

While tomes and past lives (especially Sorcerer to push Evocation DC) will make the build more powerful, it should be a ton of fun and tough to kill without extra boosting. Paladin lives will be great for more healing amplification as well. Spell penetration is a minor consideration on a druid, but wizard would also open up the active Arcane Initiate feat for extra DCs. No tomes are required for feats except a +3 constitution for Epic Toughness. (+1 does the trick as well, see below)

The level split sacrifices some sheer casting power (for most spells 2 max. levels) and spell DCs (-1 for evocation, -3 for conjuration and transmutation) for more defenses, spell crit, an extra feat, a higher spell point pool and temp SP gained by spell criticals from fire, light and untyped spells. If anyone wants to math it, go ahead, I believe the potential DPS to be slightly lower than a pure build, but close enough to make splashing a valuable trade off.

By choosing Dwarf the build gains saves and an amazing amount of extra hit points. (quite easily adaptible to human as well, losing HP and saves, but gaining heal amplification and an extra feat)

After two overhauls I believe the build to be very smooth to play in Epic Elite, especially in a group or duo situation, for its versatility, great defenses, CC, buffs, debuffs and healing capabilities. I haven't played the toon to cap yet, so judge by yourself how it might perform as a soloing build.


Recommended Starting Stats:




28 pts.
32 pts.
34 pts.
36 pts.


Strength
8
8
8
8


Dexterity
8
8
8
8


Constituition
18
18
18
18


Intelligence
10
14
14
14


Wisdom (levels here)
18
18
18
18


Charisma
6
6
8
10



Wisdom for DCs and will save. Constitution for HP and fortitude save. Spare points dumped into Intelligence for extra skill points and draconic DC. Even more spare points dumped in Charisma for UMD and Intimidate

Options: Lower charisma and intelligence for more constitution. Recommended, if you don't have a +3 con tome available!


Skills

Concentration, Heal, Spellcraft, UMD, Balance, Intimidate, 1 point in Tumble. Spare points in Diplo for Tea with the Queen.


Feats



1st
Maximize


3rd
Empower


6th
Empower Heal


9th
Heighten Spell


12th
Shield Mastery


15th
Improved Shield Mastery


16th (1st Wizard)
Quicken Spell


18th
Spell Focus: Evocation


21st
Toughness


24th
Epic Toughness


26th
Guardian Angel


27th
Epic Damage Reduction


28th
Mass Frog or Elusive Target




Offense Options:

- if you feel you don't need as much metamagics (see this interesting discussion (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/434207-Evoker) in the Evoker thread), these can be replaced with Mental Toughness or more Spell Focus Evocation and/or Arcane Initiate. I'm currently considering to replace at least Empower at higher level, as it's got a bad efficiency vs. spellpower gain ratio in my currently planned enhancement setup.

- another option would be to sacrifice PRR and replace the Shield Mastery feats. Or Epic Damage Reduction which would open the possibility to take Toughness at level 26 and Epic Toughness at level 27, freeing another feat.

- Mass Frog. While Elusive Target isn't exactly popular I personally think it's a great feat, given this build has low avoidance from dodge to push that into diminishing returns too much (and yeah, math me on it...:D)

Defense Options:

- Dodge, 3% avoidance and doesn't require a twist.


Level Order

The order of leveling and picking up the feat lines has little consequences to the build, I'd recommend 15xDruid (unlocks Heal and Earthquake) first:

Recommended:
15x Druid -> 1x Wizard -> 2x Favored Soul -> 2x Druid


Level Split

For 17 levels druid you get:
All SLAs except Storm Of Vengeance, all the good stuff from druid casting up to level 9 spells

For 2 levels FvS you get:
More spell points, spell power and 4% spell crit for fire/light, Just Rewards (temp SP), 10 PRR, 15 HP

For 1 level wiz Wiz you get:
More spell points, an extra feat, 1% spell crit

By the splash you lose:
-5 caster levels, -2 caster max levels, -2 WIS, -2 DC each for Conjuration and Transmutation, -3 Spell Penetration. The max levels will be missed, the added caster levels not so much, for many spells will cap on the way to 28 anyways or have a level independent damage component. This build ignores Spell Penetration, as very few druid spells check for it.

For 20 levels Dwarf you get:
4 CON, 30 hit points, +5 saves vs. magic, +4 Balance, +2 saves against poison, 4% more max health, +3 fort saves, -3 reflex saves

Options: As kuro_zero pointed out an option is to replace the FvS levels with Cleric. (see this comparison (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/437204-The-Stonehenge-(efficient-dragonmarked-caster)?p=5270091&viewfull=1#post5270091) in post #7): Loses some fire crit, situational spell power from Scourge and the temp SP from Just Rewards. Gain Nimbus of Light SLA and permanent spell power. The spell point increase evens out more or less, depending on your gear stats.


Defenses (selfbuffed)

- lots of PRR
- huge hit point pool
- great will and fortitude saves, especially against magic effects
- empowered, quickened Heal and Regenerate
- True Neutral, minimizing alignment damage and taking advantage of Stability (http://ddowiki.com/page/Stability) gear
- 10 DR/Adamantite from Stoneskin
- vast CC and debuffing arsenal, which should perform excellent up to EH and perform some at EE
- full self buffs: Freedom Of Movement, Death Ward, Fire Shield, Barkskin, Resist Energy
- additional short term buffs: Nightshield, Protection from Evil, Remove Fear
- Elemental form: +10 saving throw against magical poisons, immunity to natural poisons, sleep, paralysis and stun, 100% bonus to fortification
- a quite decent AC, which helps avoidance while leveling and in EN/EH.
- whatever you fit on gear, probably around 10% dodge, 10% incorporeality and 25% - 50% concealment.


Enhancements

Dwarven Racials: 7 AP Total
7 AP - Core 5x (+2 constitution, +30 hit points)

Druid - Seasoned Herald: 48 AP total
4 AP - Core 4x (Spellpower and SLAs)
3 AP - Beguile 3x (debuff attack speed and spell power on spell hit)
8 AP - Wax and Wane 4x (more spell crit depending on season)
4 AP - Wisdom 2x
6 AP - Improved Metamagic: Maximize
3 AP - Autumnal Susurrus 3x (acid negative and lightning spells get 40% to cause shaken)
1 AP - Spring Resurgence 1x (buff ally or self to AoE heal at 50%)
3 AP - SLA: Produce Flame 3x
3 AP - SLA: Creeping Cold 3x
3 AP - SLA: Call Lightning 3x
2 AP - SLA: Word Of Balance 2x
2 AP - Time and Tide (+1 caster level and max caster level for season spells)
2 AP - Strength of the Solstice (more DC)
2 AP - Crown of Summer (buff ally or self for +15% heal amp)
2 AP - Winter's Heart (cold damage proc)

Favored Soul - Warpriest: 8 AP total
1 AP - Core 1x
3 AP - Toughness 3x (15 hitpoints)
1 AP - Awareness 1x (1 spot wohoo!)
3 AP - Wall Of Steel (10 PRR)

Favored Soul - Angel of Vengeance: 11 AP total
1 AP - Core 1x
3 AP - Scourge 3x (stacking spell power on fire / light casts)
4 AP - Smiting 2x (4% spell crit, fire force, light and physical)
3 AP - Just Reward 3x (10 temp SP on crit with fire force or light spells)

Wizard - Archmage: 6 AP total
1 AP - Core 1x (free Grease clicky wohoo!)
3 AP - Energy of the Scholar (90 SP)
2 AP - Spell Critical (1% spell crit)

Options:

- drop Winter's Heart to gain 2 AP
- drop Improved Metamagic to gain 6 AP
- add wand&scroll mastery in Seasoned Herald for 6 AP
- add +3 saves against magic in Angel of Vengeance for 6 AP
- add 30 more hitpoints in Pale Master for 7 AP


Epic Destiny

I'll need to playtest and evaluate the options before I make recommendations. Primal Avatar, Shiradi Champion or Draconic Incarnation are all possible candidates for various situations. By all means suggest viable ED layouts for this build.

Twist Brainstorming (yes, this thread is also my personal notepad...):

- Healing: Cocoon (cheap heal/shield not requiring LoS), Renewal (dito), Endless Faith (10% more SP, Echoes restores 30 SP)
- Defensive: Legendary Shield Mastery (+15 PRR 7% doublestrike)
- Saves: Impregnable Mind (+6 concentration, +6 will saves, no fail), Perfection of Body (+6 fort saves, no fail)
- DCs: Evocation Specialist (+3 DC), Precise Casting Evocation (+2 DC)


Gear and Tactics

See the level up guides below in the thread.


Recommended Spells

Level 1: Faerie Fire, Entangle, Jump, Pass Without Trace, Merfolks Blessing

Level 2: Resist Energy, Creeping Cold, Gust Of Wind, Barkskin, Flameblade

Level 3: Protection from Energy, Call Lightning, Salt Ray, Quench, Spike Growth

Level 4: Cure Serious Wound, Freedom Of Movement, Ice Storm, Dispel Magic, Enveloping Pack

Level 5: Stoneskin, Call Lightning Storm, Wall Of Fire, Death Ward, Reincarnate

Level 6: Vigor Mass, Fire Seeds, Fire Shield, Greater Creeping Cold, Word Of Balance

Level 7: Regenerate, True Seeing, Body of the Sun, Freezing Spray

Level 8: Heal, Earthquake, Sunburst

Level 9: Regenerate Mass, Storm Of Vengeance

Favored Soul: Nightshield, Protection from Evil, Remove Fear

Wizard: Sonic Blast, Obscuring Mist, Detect Secret Doors


Damage mitigation: PRR, DR and avoidance

Short version

The build with good gear will reduce the dreaded 300 damage melee hit in EE to:

177 maximum damage
164 maximum damage (if under 50% health)

(About 15 less, if you actively shieldblock.)

Those hits will be often avoided, depending on the circumstances, resulting in...

...best case, trash and displacement active
65 average damage
60 average damage (if under 50% health)

...worst case, red named with true seeing
151 average damage
143 average damage (if under 50% health)

As you see, the damage gets quite manageable, considering you're a ranged character and have lots of CC, fully meta'ed heal and regenerate.

Long version



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Physical Resistance Rating
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+ 15 PRR from Madstone Aegis and Improved Shield Mastery
+ 15 PRR from Legendary Shield Mastery
+ 10 Epic Damage Reduction
+ 10 PRR from Warpriest Enhancements
+ 16 PRR from medium armor
+ 24 PRR enhancement bonus from Guardians Ring
==========
90 PRR = 38,69% physical DR

+ 20 PRR bonus under 50% health from Guardian Angel
==========
110 PRR = 43,48% physical DR

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Damage Reduction
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-> 10 DR from stoneskin => 10 reduced, 290 remaining
-> PRR reduces => 113 reduced, total damage: 177
-> PRR reduces (under 50%) => 126 reduced, total damage: 164

You'll get 15 more DR before PRR kicks in, if you actively shield block.

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Damage Avoidance, fighting a trash mob with active Displacement
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5% Miss on a 1 => 9 (8) reduced => remaining 168 (156)
50% Displacement => 84 (78) reduced => remaining 84 (78)
10% Ghostly => 8 (8) reduced => remaining 76 (70)
10% Dodge => 8 (7) reduced => remaining 68 (63)
5% Elusive Target => 3 (3) reduced => remaining 65 (60)

Total damage: 65 or 60 (under 50% health)

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Damage Avoidance, fighting a boss mob bypassing blurry and ghostly
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5% Miss on a 1 => 9 (8) reduced => remaining 168 (156)
10% Dodge => 17 (16) reduced => remaining 151 (140)
5% Elusive Target => 8 (7) reduced => remaining 143 (133)

Total damage: 143 or 133 (under 50% health)


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Feedback, suggestions and build criticism is very much welcome.

Please keep the thread focused on the general build idea and the druid class. Please keep discussions of the pro / contra of going pure versus going multi class pragmatic and unbiased. Thanks!

Feel free to send Snowfang on Khyber a tell for any questions.

Also, what's a 'Henge' anyways?

[Gnarkh]

Changes:

- 2014-03-01 Reposted the build after a serious overhaul
- 2014-03-03 More major changes, aiming for more endgame survivability, no mo' dragonmarks *sniff*
- 2014-03-04 Fixed a couple typos, added some ideas from feedback I got, added some PRR numbers for the defensive feats, added FvS and Wiz spells
- 2014-03-06 Had fun with math and added some tank mitigation hard numbers
- 2014-03-13 The math was faulty, however....fixed it (hopefully). Also started a level up guide, see below
- 2014-03-13 Some changes to starting stats and feat order

[Michele]

if you take the wizard level you should use shiradi with magic missiles.
you can increase caster levels with 3 piecese of abishai set, twilight staff, chaosrobe... I don't remember the other bonuses.

[Gnarkh]

if you take the wizard level you should use shiradi with magic missiles.

Might be an option, yes. You can get it to 2 missiles max I think with a kind of heavy gear investment? Would make a nice 'cheap' chain with MM, SLA MM and unmeta'ed fire seeds with terrible damage, but as sort of a fallback? Not sure I get your idea here. Feel free to go into more detail and suggest viable gear options for this, using a staff and a robe would hurt PRR a lot, and I don't think it would be worth the effort in this specific case.

I'll have to play with this build a bit and test, idea was mostly to proc Just Rewards with firewall, aura and the light/fire spells druid would use anyways. While this will surely help spell point efficiency, I don't think it will be anywhere near the 'shrine? what's a shrine?' attitude you develop on a shiradi arcane.

Speaking of PRR, I'm contemplating to drop dragonmarks, switch race (dwarf for against magic saves, hp and con or human for heal amp and the extra feat) and maybe add shield feats for extra PRR. Which would make i.e. Epic Toughness quite accessible and help survivability a lot on a better geared version of this. (sigh...gotta make clickies after all I guess...)

Can one change the thread title by the way? Only figured out how to change the first posts title...sigh.

[kuro_zero]

The enhancements in AoV seem off.

Scourge is a pre-req for Just Rewards. You need 4 points spent in Tier1 (plus 1 in first core) to unlock Tier 2 but I only see Smiting in Tier1.

I think it should probably look something like:

1 Core
2 Smiting I
3 Scourge
3 Just Rewards
2 Smiting II
--
11

Since you're boosting WIS, have you thought about 2 Cleric instead? Still have access to Warpriest, and Divine Disciple has some nice things.

Following is to compare SP and whether you gain more from FvS or Cleric being based on wisdom referencing this: (http://ddowiki.com/page/Spell_point) Assuming a CHA of 30 and WIS of 50.


SOURCE FvS CLR
Base 150 75
Wiz X 275 250
GS SP 165 150
30 CHA 110 0
50 WIS 0 220
TOTAL 700 695

So we're looking at pretty much a wash in terms of SP gains of FvS vs Clr although consolidating items as negates the need to slot CHA. You gain +2 SP per point in AoV, so around +24 with 12 points spent. You get ahead if you invest in the SP enhancement in Divine Disciple.

Divine Disciple you lose fire spell crit, ~12 Universal Spell Power (AoV +1/point spent in enhancement tree), up to 30 fire and light spell power (Scourge) and temp SP (Just Rewards)

Your light spell crit stays the same (or go with the universal to increase other SLA crit chance), you gain Nimbus of Light as an SLA, and "always on" spell power without having to build Scourge up.

I'm just throwing out another option but comparing the two now as I typed it out I'm agreeing with the FvS splash. As far as total SP gain, I think it's pretty even considering the massive WIS you'll have compared to CHA. The temp SP gain from Just Rewards could be huge however, but max+emp+quickened Nimbus is nice as well and not needing to slot CHA in gear makes things simpler.

[Gnarkh]

The enhancements in AoV seem off.

Indeed they are. Thanks for mentioning that. I'll correct it after breakfast.


Since you're boosting WIS, have you thought about 2 Cleric instead? Still have access to Warpriest, and Divine Disciple has some nice things.

Honestly I only took a quick glance and intuitively decided on FvS for Just Rewards and spell crit. I'll have to think about this a bit. Thanks for the awesome comparison (feel free to throw more nicely layouted spell point breakdowns at me :D).

[Michele]

1 wizard + 3 abishai + 2 twilight + 1 chaosrobe = level 7 arcane caster = 4 magic missiles

so you have 1 magic missile sla with full metamagic and 1 magic missile spell.

also the abishai and twilight and chaosrobe will add caster levels to your energy burst!

I'm currently going in draconic ice specced and using energy burst and energy vortex ice, I mostly use creeping cold and greater creeping cold dots togheter with earthquake and ice storm with 400 spell power ice at level 26 and mobs blow up at epic elite content (mantle of icy soul gives -4 reflex saves to enemies and if you care about intelligence stat you will have a good chance that the epic elite mobs will not succeed the reflex save; I'm currently sitting on 50 energy burst DC without considering mantle of icy soul and I'm planning to increase it further).


Might be an option, yes. You can get it to 2 missiles max I think with a kind of heavy gear investment? Would make a nice 'cheap' chain with MM, SLA MM and unmeta'ed fire seeds with terrible damage, but as sort of a fallback? Not sure I get your idea here. Feel free to go into more detail and suggest viable gear options for this, using a staff and a robe would hurt PRR a lot, and I don't think it would be worth the effort in this specific case.

[Gnarkh]

1 wizard + 3 abishai + 2 twilight + 1 chaosrobe = level 7 arcane caster = 4 magic missiles

Thanks for the breakdown and presenting a very interesting gear option. This would indeed be a viable and probably almost free little chain to cast then.

My worries here is the suggested gear is not meshing well with the build imho (see changes I made after your original post regarding i.e. shield feats):
- Twilight for me is less than ideal, as I'd want to use a shield like the Madstone Aegis (http://ddowiki.com/page/Madstone_Aegis), obviously. And maybe a Sage's Locket (http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Sage%27s_Locket_%28Level_26%29).
- I'd probably prefer medium armor for more PRR unless I'm using primal ED with evasion (situationally at best as I'd have to drop the shield as well).
- Five parts of the Abishai set would be five gear slots with imho not very desirable stats at cap, although the bonus is obviously great for the setup you mentioned

I'm also not sure, if your breakdown is correct regarding Spell Augmentation:
- It seems to not affect archmage SLAs. Which naturally makes me wonder if it affects epic destiny SLAs. Can someone clarify?
- While the Wiki wording is a little vague here, you sure two different tiers (Twilight and Chaosrobe) of this effect stack?

Source: http://ddowiki.com/page/Spell_Augmentation

All things considered, my gear focus would probably aim for balancing defenses, DCs, healing stats and different spell elements, so Abishai and a staff would carve deep into the item budget and I'm not sure I could fit anything I'd want.

An interesting suggestion nonetheless for maximizing DPS or if someone chooses to drop the shield feats. I also might evaluate this differently, if I had tons of 'legacy caster gear' on the character already, a couple more past lives and a spare raid box.

Interesting idea to go draconic. I'll have to check that out as well a little bit more in depth. What's your layout for ED and twists?

[Gnarkh]

Since you're boosting WIS, have you thought about 2 Cleric instead?

I added this as a build option in the main post now. I'll personally still stick with FvS for the temp SP mainly. Thanks again for making this balanced comparison.

[Michele]

Thanks for the breakdown and presenting a very interesting gear option. This would indeed be a viable and probably almost free little chain to cast then.

My worries here is the suggested gear is not meshing well with the build imho (see changes I made after your original post regarding i.e. shield feats):
- Twilight for me is less than ideal, as I'd want to use a shield like the Madstone Aegis (http://ddowiki.com/page/Madstone_Aegis), obviously. And maybe a Sage's Locket (http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Sage%27s_Locket_%28Level_26%29).
- I'd probably prefer medium armor for more PRR unless I'm using primal ED with evasion (situationally at best as I'd have to drop the shield as well).
- Five parts of the Abishai set would be five gear slots with imho not very desirable stats at cap, although the bonus is obviously great for the setup you mentioned

I'm also not sure, if your breakdown is correct regarding Spell Augmentation:
- It seems to not affect archmage SLAs. Which naturally makes me wonder if it affects epic destiny SLAs. Can someone clarify?
- While the Wiki wording is a little vague here, you sure two different tiers (Twilight and Chaosrobe) of this effect stack?

Source: http://ddowiki.com/page/Spell_Augmentation

All things considered, my gear focus would probably aim for balancing defenses, DCs, healing stats and different spell elements, so Abishai and a staff would carve deep into the item budget and I'm not sure I could fit anything I'd want.

An interesting suggestion nonetheless for maximizing DPS or if someone chooses to drop the shield feats. I also might evaluate this differently, if I had tons of 'legacy caster gear' on the character already, a couple more past lives and a spare raid box.

Interesting idea to go draconic. I'll have to check that out as well a little bit more in depth. What's your layout for ED and twists?

3 pieces of abishai set, not 5.
get cloak for 7 const, boots for 2 slots, and choose one between gloves and bracers.

shield is useless in epic elite content, the will cut you in half when they hit you for 200 damage per hit

[kuro_zero]

Abishai hasn't aged very well. Tying up three item slots for a single spell seems like a waste. Plus, he has a better option is using Shirardi, which is unmeta'd Earthquake and Body of the Sun (fire elemental form) which Shirardi has a chance to proc on each tick of those two spells.

@OP - Its been a long while since I've even looked at a shield, but back in the day I used to occasionally pull out a heavy shield on my ranger to shield block and I could still evade with it. Whether it is still works like that or if does/does not work with tower shields is something I would have to check.

If you can still evade with a shield/tower shield, it might be beneficial to try to maximize your PRR with light armor and get as close to dodge cap as you can (Dodge feat is an option then) and you can use animal form to gain evasion when its more beneficial than elemental form.

[Gnarkh]

3 pieces of abishai set, not 5. (...) shield is useless in epic elite content, the will cut you in half when they hit you for 200 damage per hit

Thanks for clarifying that. And my bad reading the set bonus wrong.

Shield (example is Madstone Aegis) with feats adds:
- 15 PRR from feats
- 15 PRR from Legendary Shield mastery (tier 2 twist, though)
- 16 DR, if actively blocking, while standing in AoE goo.
- a blue augment slot, which might or might not be used on more PRR
- AC, not useful in EE, but useful everywhere else, which for me and the builds target audience will be a consideration, spending a good bunch of time farming EDs.

That's 16.82% more physical DR compared to not using a shield at least, not counting active blocking or the extra slot. I noticed you're a big fan of PRR in your other posts?

How much you value defenses in EE is another matter entirely. I can only speak from my experiences on my other divine that the parts add up, and you turn out to be a lot less squishy and have that little edge in survival that often counts. It's why I changed the build a lot the last week, I feel that druids Heal Over Time meshes a lot better with steady mitigation (PRR) and a big HP pool than with avoidance (dodge). For me that's tanking 101, but then again I like defensive builds a lot.

My point was, I'll lose a lot of synergy: losing shields (PRR), medium armor (even more PRR) and additional item slots might not be worth it for me on a build meant to be a supporter first, DPS second. There are other arguments for not using Twilight as well imho. (like a +5 DC item wouldn't stack).

On a personal note, this whole 'EE will teach ya!' attitude of yours is not helpful. The truth imho is, even on EE you don't insta die the second something melees you. People exaggerate a lot, how survivable EE really is. Especially in groups. Especially on a well built divine. Especially in 95% of the EE content.

Just to clarify, I'm not trying to build a dedicated EE soloer or a max DPS monster. I'll play in groups and a static duo with a dedicated DPSer mostly and survival is my first concern to keep people healed and deploy CC and debuffs. Maximizing DPS obviously is important, but it's a secondary concern.

It's simpy a trade off. Kill speed vs. defenses. Take your pick. I'll include both options in a gear list, when I put one in the build post.

As stated in the build post, dropping shield feats is a great option and a good argument can be made to add more DC or Mental Toughness instead. In that setup, using shields wouldn't make sense.

The tl;dr of your quite provocative posts, also in other threads, is 'go pure, maximize dps and use my build'. Which of course is an option. Care to put it on the forum, I'd be interested.

[Gnarkh]

If you can still evade with a shield/tower shield, it might be beneficial to try to maximize your PRR with light armor and get as close to dodge cap as you can (Dodge feat is an option then) and you can use animal form to gain evasion when its more beneficial than elemental form.

Yeah. Evasion works with all shields. Only requirement is robes or light armor. I personally feel, shields are very underrated at the moment for historical reasons. Call me a fan :). They can add plenty to a build with PRR, blocking DR, extra item budget, doublestrike and even energy resistance, if you got the feats for that.

And yup, I had that in mind for situations, where evasion is immensely beneficial or for lazy mode EN/EH zergs. I'm not sure I'd use a feat on dodge as it's so soooo feat starved, but it surely is an option as well. Can't argue with 3% avoidance. I agree with the general idea to dodge cap. Having little experience with using medium armor, I'd have to do the math at some point, if going light armor as a default wouldn't be more beneficial as a general setup here.

I'll have to see in actual combat. Evasion will be very limited on the build in the current incarnation, due to the terribly low reflex save. At the very least, if I find it helpful, I'd switch out the +3 fort / -3 reflex enhancement again. Chances are, on lower difficulties I wouldn't bother switching gear and ED, on higher difficulties the saves just won't cut it.


Plus, he has a better option is using Shirardi, which is unmeta'd Earthquake and Body of the Sun (fire elemental form) which Shirardi has a chance to proc on each tick of those two spells.

That. And firewall. Also to proc Just Rewards. Can anyone verify that Body of the Sun procs that?

[kuro_zero]

Yeah. Evasion works with all shields. Only requirement is robes or light armor.

And yup, that's what I had in mind for situations, where evasion is immensely beneficial. I'm not sure I'd use a feat on dodge, but it surely is an option as well. Can't argue with 3% avoidance.

I'll have to see in actual combat. Evasion will be very limited on this build after the last changes, due to the terrible low reflex save. (at the very least, if I find it helpful, I'd switch out the +3 fort / -3 reflex enhancement again).

Ohhh completely forgot about druid's horrendous reflex save progression. So yea, getting a viable reflex save is going to be tough.

The suggestion for dodge was to make it easier to get higher dodge if using light armor since you're limited to equipment otherwise (?) not having monk or other class enhancements that make reaching dodge cap easier.

Also, instead of an augment for PRR (which is max +16), there's the easy to get Guardian's Ring (http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Guardian%27s_Ring_(Level_27)) for a huge 24 PRR.

U21 has a pair of bracers with +30 PRR as well.

[Michele]

Thanks for clarifying that. And my bad reading the set bonus wrong.

Shield (example is Madstone Aegis) with feats adds:
- 15 PRR from feats
- 15 PRR from Legendary Shield mastery (tier 2 twist, though)
- 16 DR, if actively blocking, while standing in AoE goo.
- a blue augment slot, which might or might not be used on more PRR
- AC, not useful in EE, but useful everywhere else, which for me and the builds target audience will be a consideration, spending a good bunch of time farming EDs.

That's 16.82% more physical DR compared to not using a shield at least. (not counting active blocking or the extra slot)

How much you value defenses in EE is another matter entirely. I can only speak from my experiences on my other divine that the parts add up, and you turn out to be a lot less squishy and have that little edge in survival that often counts. It's why I changed the build a lot the last week, I feel that druids Heal Over Time meshes a lot better with steady mitigation (PRR) and a big HP pool than with avoidance (dodge). For me that's tanking 101, but then again I like defensive builds a lot.

My point was, I'll lose a lot of synergy: losing shields (PRR), medium armor (even more PRR) and additional item slots might not be worth it for me on a build meant to be a supporter first, DPS second. There are other arguments for not using Twilight as well imho. (like a +5 DC item wouldn't stack).

On a personal note, this whole 'EE will teach ya!' attitude of yours is not helpful. The truth imho is, even on EE you don't insta die the second something melees you. People exaggerate a lot, how survivable EE really is. Especially in groups. Especially on a divine. Especially in 95% of the EE content.

It's simpy a trade off. Kill speed vs. defenses. Take your pick. I'll include both options in a gear list, when I put one in the build post.

The tl;dr of your posts, also in other threads, is 'go pure, maximize dps and use my build'. Which of course is an option.

I have 45 prr: light blue dragonscale armor for invisibility scroll spell failure, 24 prr from guardian's ring, 9 from 3 past lives pdk.
you can grind 27 more prr from divine epic past lives.

but the point is: you can keep the mobs at distance or keep them in an earthquake, you are a caster after all.

in epic hard mobs explode with an energy burst and hit for low damage, so it's not needed 100+ prr.

and ok, let's say that you have enough defense to survive epic elite attacks, you sacrificed too much offensive power yo be able to bring down a boss with 350000 hit points... you need at least 400 spel power cold and at least 3500 spell points and use creeping cold spells.

[Michele]

Abishai hasn't aged very well. Tying up three item slots for a single spell seems like a waste. Plus, he has a better option is using Shirardi, which is unmeta'd Earthquake and Body of the Sun (fire elemental form) which Shirardi has a chance to proc on each tick of those two spells.

it's not only a single spell: it's energy burst and energy vortex and dragon breath.
I only use them together with creeping cold spells to deal damage in epic elite content.

by equipping 3 pieces of the abishai set, energy burst deals about 500 more damage.
if you consider 2 more levels from arcane augmentation IX you will deal even more damage.
twilight staff is bad because I can't maximize cold spell critical, but an alchemical scepter (or shield for the shield lovers! :D ) allow you to equip a glaciation scepter of ice lore.

Also I tested both tactics and the ice draconic path unleash tons more damage then a shiradi earthquake\bodyofthesun caster.

[Gnarkh]

Also, instead of an augment for PRR (which is max +16), there's the easy to get Guardian's Ring (http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Guardian%27s_Ring_(Level_27)) for a huge 24 PRR. U21 has a pair of bracers with +30 PRR as well.

Probably the better option by all means. :)

[Gnarkh]

it's not only a single spell: it's energy burst and energy vortex and dragon breath. (...) Also I tested both tactics and the ice draconic path unleash tons more damage then a shiradi earthquake\bodyofthesun caster.

*nods* I see your point. And you're tempting me to test draconic on this build sooner rather than later :). (and maybe even invest in some intelligence for kicks...)

My reasoning for the shiradi approach is...a different mindset altogether...less damage per second, but better spell point efficiency, figuring in Just Rewards. Which requires sort of a fire / light / physical based attack chain. Hence stacking unmeta'ed damage over time spells and SLAs as very cheap casts. Doing less damage per second, but very efficient damage nonetheless. At least that's my assumption as I'll have to playtest how often Just Reward procs and from which spells.

It's a big reason why after reading the Evoker discussion as you suggested, I plan to keep full metamagics, as it helps both Shiradi procs and SLAs.

It's beyond my theorycrafting abilities in this game to figure out, which setup has the better total damage potential, if time is not a factor. Your approach surely will bring down bosses in less time. My approach surely has added perks as well, like dumping a cheap firewall and cast each spell at 10 less spell points (i.e. while healing or kiting).

I have to admit here, I'll be the first to dump the build and go pure, if it doesn't feel right while playing. It works great on arcane Shiradi builds, though (which obviously have their magic missile chain on top).

You can also use both approaches, depending on the situation and availability of shrines in the quest. (and if the mobs are ice or fire immune...:D)


Regarding PRR. If I got my math straight, every point of PRR adds to your mitigation equally:

100 damage -> 10 PRR -> 6.22% reduction -> 6.22 damage less

remaining damage: 93.88

93.88 damage -> 10 more PRR -> 6.22% more reduction *grabs calculator* -> 5.84 damage less

remaining damage: 88.04

If you add those up right away it seems to have diminishing returns (11.84% not 12.44%).

If you look at it from the "10 PRR more" perspective, each tier reduces damage by the same percentage, though.

So, in my personal tank math reasoning, there's no such thing as too much PRR :).

The only diminishing return of sorts you have is that healing countering the damage is an absolute value.

[Michele]

*nods* I see your point. And you're tempting me to test draconic on this build sooner rather than later :).

if you test draconic and took less than 20 levels you need the abishai set to make them cap.

another downside of draconic is that regenerate mass is less effective.

[Gnarkh]

"Humble beginnings now. Or rather naked ones. On a beach…great."

Snowfang, oddly shaped level one druid, awakens.


Level 1

So….I finally TRed, after a little bit of preparation. Before I used a +20 heart of wood to respec to sorcerer to grab a free +1DC passive past life feat. The character also has one more past life, druid. Fits nicely.

At character creation I decide on a first build change, I have 36 points available and add some more versatility:

Str: 8
Dex: 8
Con: 18
Int: 14 (for skillpoints and at Michele's suggestion Dragonic DC)
Wis: 18 (main attribute)
Cha: 10 (for UMD and Intimidate)

This gives me some opportunity to test various aspects of the build later. At the cost of 2 con, which doesn't hurt the build. I have a +3 Con available to unlock Epic Toughness later on. For the other stats, Snowfang has +2 or +3 as well, which is nice, but not essential.

Dialing in the numbers I realize I really want intimidate. I got a shield already, armor and a good chunk of PRR in mind. A tank mage! Throwing lightning and flame strikes! (oh, the nostalgia…).

I set skill points accordingly for: Heal, Spellcraft, Concentration, Intimidate, UMD, 1 point in tumble and balance.

Feat: Maximize (for more oomph)

Spells: Lesser Vigor and Ram's (as every little bit helps with 8 strength)


I summon my pet (and also keep a wolf summoned in quests).

Next, grab something to wear and a water breathing ring from the tutorial. Say hello to a friend waiting at the Korthos harbor for me! The weather is great.

Speaking of which, I have the great fun and honor to share this TR with two level bodies…I mean, buddies, uh…so let's call them Humpty, a dwarven con barb…'nuff said. And Dumpty, a dwarven centered kensai we force to do traps for us.

Dumpty and me shortman Korthos. Melee, red alert and being barrel shaped is fun. Kensai gal doesn't die, which comes sorta…unexpected. ^^ I'm glad to have friends, though (as my dog is beating me in damage)

Back in the harbor, I set up my toolbars and suffer from my usual TRRS (Twink Resources Relog Syndrome). As I recently picked up some basic crafting skills, I decide to plan ahead for once and make stuff with a low storage footprint I could reuse on other lives and characters.


Starter Gear

--- Sir Craft-a-lot…'an hour later...'

I'm using shards of masterful craftsmanship, if you don't have enough house C favor for that (on any toon), add +2 min levels to most items. If you feel like reusing the equipment on other characters later, Sharn and other low level quests give you BtA items you can use as crafting blanks.

These can be crafted by buddies as well! For a very moderate amount of resources.

- screaming of bleeding scimitar (level 1)
- holy of righteousness scimitar (level 2)
- wooden shield of stability (level 1, upgrades at level 4 (greater) and 8 (superior))
- leather armor of invulnerability (level 2, upgrade at 4 with a mobile shard)

- helmet: wisdom +3 (level 3, upgrade at level 5/7/9)
- necklace: constitution +3 (level 3, upgrade at level 5/7/9)
- belt: false life +10/+20/+30 (level 3, upgrade at level 5/7)
- boots: intimidate +7/+10 /+13 boots (level 3, upgrade at level 5/9)
- gloves: strength +3 (level 3, upgrade at level 5/7/9, if you prefer it over Charged Gauntlets)
- ring of feather falling (level 1)
- ring of underwater action (level 3)

Goggles I fill with a deadly item. I got Masterful Fortification Rings luckily, one for level 1 (40%), one for level 5 (80%). The second slot uses strength, devotion, featherfall or underwater, whichever I need most.

I crafted screaming of bleeding hand wraps (transformed to a collar) and another leather armor of invulnerability as well for my dog buddy.

--- Sir Shop-A-Lot…

100 x Cure Severe Wounds
100 x Remove Blindness
100 x Remove Curse
100 x Remove Disease
100 x Neutralize Poison
100 x Restoration
100 x Haste
100 x Shield of Faith (+3)
Druid Spell Ingredients (levels 1-3, 999 each)

--- Sir TR-A-Lot…

Very easy equipment to farm, if you haven't stashed it.

- 2x Anger's Step (level 1) for Expeditious Retreat
- Cloak of Flames (http://http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Cloak_of_Flames) (level 3, various upgrades), house Cannith challenges
- Bracers of Wind (http://http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Bracers_of_Wind) (level 3, various upgrades), house Cannith challenges
- A Chronoscope set (level 5): Charged Gauntlets (http://http://ddowiki.com/page/Charged_Gauntlets), Helm of Frost (http://ddowiki.com/page/Helm_of_Frost), Boots of Corrosion (http://http://ddowiki.com/page/Boots_of_Corrosion), Envenomed Cloak (http://http://ddowiki.com/page/Envenomed_Cloak) and Scorched Bracers (http://ddowiki.com/page/Scorched_Bracers)
- Ring of the Archbishop (level 3), Deleras
- Trapblast Goggles (level 1), Seal of Shan-To-Kor
- Stalwart Trinket (level 4), for …thematic reasons, Crystal Cove Event
- an upgraded Lordsmarch set (http://http://ddowiki.com/page/Cauldron_of_Sora_Katra) (level 13)
- Potions of Mnemonic Enhancement (for emergencies, can do without usually)

Getting all this prepared took a while. On the good side I won't need a lot of gear for a long while, besides crafting upgrades.

I discover my TR bank is cluttered with now basically useless 'twink gear'. Trashed it! That felt right….


Level 2

No hard choices here. Choose wolf. Transform, wreak some havoc. Intimidate if you feel like it. Damage and healing output is quite terrible, but with summons and wolf speed it's smooth to play nonetheless.

Skill points: Concentration, Heal, Intimidate, Spellcraft, UMD, balance

Spells: Jump (because I carry way too many potions as is…)

Enhancements: Beguile

I equip my prepared weapons, armor and shield from the bank, ship buff and head to the harbor quests. With invulnerability and full energy resists, obviously you are impossible to kill.


Level 3

I equip all my level 3 gear. 82 hit points, 297 spell points. It's a start :).

Feats: Empower (for a little more oomph…)

Enhancements: Wax and Wane, Produce Flame

Spells: Flame Blade ('cause your wisdom rocks), Barkskin (make you and your friends look even more like barrels)

Canine melee does take a quantum leap with a Flame Blade. Produce flame hits for 80-ish on a crit. If it hits. A fire breathing wolf. Cute.

As it's quite late, I solo for a bit, completing all level 2 quests.

[Gnarkh]

"There's a shrine a bit ahead."

"OooOoOOOOoooooOOOoooo"


Level 4

Skills: Concentration, Heal, Intimidate, Spellcraft, UMD, Balance
Spells: Magic Fang (woof!), Cure Light Wounds (cause lessr vigor won't cut it)
Stat Increase: Wisdom
Enhancements added: 3x Creeping Cold, 1x Dwarven Core, 1x Wisdom

120 HP, 354 SP (with ship buffs)

I upgrade my shield (Greater Stability), armor (Mobile) and equip my Stalwart Trinket. I also dig a Masterful Glacial Scepter of Ice Lore (level 4) out of my arcane's bank. Right in time for Creeping Cold.

I head into the catacombs with a fast moving pug.

Most of the time it's zerg zerg zerg in wolf form. For stuff that lives longer than 2 seconds: Creeping Cold is a death sentence. Hit thing. Run. Thing dies.


Level 5

Skills: Concentration, Heal, Intimidate, Spellcraft, UMD, Balance
Spells: Spike Growth (to have some AoE), Cure Moderate Wounds (cause small heals add up and are efficient)
Enhancements added: +1 Dwarven Con (stat evened out, yay), mo' Wax&Wane (crit…give me more crit…!)

HP: 150, SP: 373 (unbuffed)

I grab my Voice, Mantle and Charged Gauntlets from the bank and replace my fortification ring. Then I upgrade the false life belt, the wisdom helmet and the constitution necklace. Not upgrading the other stats, all on even numbers where they'll stay until level 7.

Running the usual chain stuff…Waterworks, Catacombs, STK and Tangleroot, all smooth. Actually the build starts to feels quite oomph-y and SLAs plus Spikes plus some melee plus summons dishes out quite good damage. My gear makes me sort of invulnerable indeed and I duo all remaining level 3 quests.

I get reckless and die in traps. Too often :) And realize, hit points and caffeine doesn't fix everything. Dumpty faithfully keeps shrining me. I realize it was a wise move to recommend her a monk based build…(also, I make a mental note to teach my dog evasion).

The build feels quite hybrid already. Go wolf and zerg. Go dwarf and throw heals and casts. Depending on the zerg-o-tential of the group.


Level 6

Feat: Empower Heal ('cause I heal…)
Skills: Concentration, Heal, Intimidate, Spellcraft, rest in UMD
Spells: Resist Energy (if too lazy for ship buffs), Vigor (spell cool downs aren't your friend)
Enhancements: Wax&Wane, 3rd core Seasoned Herald, Call Lightning

HP: 165, SP: 410 (unbuffed)

Besides my main attacks set on various buttons, I also use this for healing efficiently:

- On my main toolbar: Attacks, 4 heal spells, Wolf Form and Empower Heal

- This allows me to switch to 'full heal mode' with two keystrokes: go dwarven form and empower all the toolbar heals

- My best heal and my best regeneration spell are duplicated on separate hotkeys, with Empower Heal 'always on'. This is for emergency (and very expensive) burst healing.

It does the trick for both forms. Being able to spam 4 spells in wolf form is an asset and allows for some 'on the run healing' in zergs. As a dwarf I can spam cheap healing very quickly, plentiful and preemptively to some extent, while keeping up most of my DPS with spamming the SLAs.

Call Lightning adds some much desired oomph, critting for a healthy 400-ish damage. Empower Heal adds 75% to my burst heals.


No gear changes. That feels weird…

...so I loot a great looking hide armor and a ruggish looking club from the Sharn Syndicate. I craft a Thorn Guard Hide Armor of Invulnerability (I still intimidate here and then :)) and a +36 Devotion Club of Healing Lore III. I replace the ring with a looted Dodge +4% item. (If you haven an *incredible* crafter, use flexible shards and make a Mobile Ring of Dodge +4%)


http://i.imgur.com/LIgVcB0.png

[Michele]

At character creation I decide on a first build change, I have 36 points available and add some more versatility:

Str: 8
Dex: 8
Con: 18
Int: 14 (for skillpoints and at Michele's suggestion Dragonic DC)
Wis: 18 (main attribute)
Cha: 10 (for UMD and Intimidate)


I think this is a 40 points build :P

By the way, I enjoyed reading your druid level progression, please keep writing your story as you continue to level up :)

[Gnarkh]

Looks good, huh. :) And it fits: 16 (18 Wis) + 10 (16 Con + 2 Dwarf) + 6 (14 Int) + 4 (12 Cha - 2 Dwarf) = 36

Dwarfs *so* are the new master race. ;)

And thank you. It's a blast to play and fun to share. Also, writing all this stuff down makes me craft gear ahead of time, so I spent less time running circles in the harbor to 'check auctions' and making desperate decisions which looted **** to trash. I hope it's helpful for other aspiring druids as well.

So the adventures on Snowfang will continue! After the server down (on vacation, of course...)

Meanwhile...

[Gnarkh]

"Hi, my name is Snowfang, I'm a DDO crafter." *waves paw*

*applause* "Hiiiii, Snowfang!"



A (very) short guide to DDO crafting


Crafting in DDO seems complex and totally in depth!

Well, here are the six steps...

(1) There are three spheres (arcane, divine and elemental) you need to level separately. Crafting Halls are in House Kundurak and House Cannith. Find those, take a quick glance at the machines and the vendor. (as your biggest obstacle as an aspiring crafter will be the user interface...)

(2) Buy two large BtA collectible bags. Set the first one to auto collect. When it's full, set the second one to auto collect. Do the same for Ingredient Bags.

(3) The long road to success: Play for several months or years. To farm essences and collectibles. Optionally crunch gear you loot at the deconstruction machine to get more essences.

(3b) Or: Get rich by any other means and buy them.

(4) Train your cat, a sibling or an asian exchange music student to convert Greater to Lesser Essences for half a day.

(5) Craft many shards. Advice: sort the crafting list by XP, select only one sphere and set the max crafting level to +10 of your current level in that particular sphere. Good: Shards that use few mats, especially rare ones. However, don't let too much of this pesky math think lower your click speed at this phase! (sigh…)

(6) Stop leveling when you're able to craft those items actually useful to you. Most twink gear has only modest requirements. To figure out, what you can craft, use the fantastic Cannith Crafting Planner (http://cannith.cubicleninja.com/).


Besides that you really only need to know two more things:

- Craft your personal gear on Bound-To-Account items (http://ddowiki.com/page/Cannith_Crafting/BtA_base_items) with Masterful Crafting Shards (http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Bound_Shard_of_Masterful_Craftsmanship_I). Which requires one of your toons to have 50 Cannith favor.

- If you want to be a more versatile crafter, grab a Soul Bag as well and grab some soul eating spells and/or gear…you, you…monster!


That's the guide. :D

[Gnarkh]

"healk me"

*humms a sad version of Black Orpheus*

It's time for carnival. The smell of death, decay and giant underwear makes me feel bitter, as fellow ranger guy dies at a part of the map, I've never seen personally before.

A damsel in distress! *puts on hippie-esque social gamer smile*

After a stop at the first shrine and an amazing amount of spell points later I manage to save him and his sixty-something hitpoints from death-by-trip. Mostly.


"can selfheal btw"

While Dumpty is on her way to the top altar, the damsel reanimates at the giant's shrine. Triggers the Air Spirit. Oops.

I take a little time. And shrine while the ambush and Dumpty's litany of curses rain upon us. A real Planescape moment. I wanted to screenshot it, but my press agent advised against it for legal reasons.

Ten long seconds later I slightly panic and unleash a full load of Ice Storms and Spikes onto the attackers. Meanwhile…Dumpty dies up top. I take a glance at my spell points. Sad, so sad. (mental note: 'borrow' mnemonic pots from your other casters)


"sry gotta eat dinner rq"

With the cunning use of Echoes I solo my way up top, zapping one caster left (zzzzosh!) then ice another right (crrrrrrk!). Wait for spell points. Rinse and repeat. Dumpty asks me what spell the one shooting lightning stuff is. I answer gladly: "Lightning Strike. Yes, it is OP, Dumpty. Actually I'm OP. I'm the master of the forces of nature. I'm a DDO god! It's simple really."

Dumpty's stone in reach, I grab it with an elegant fly-by move it and gracefully jump off to the altars platform.

A short (but enlightening) roadrunner moment later I realize feather fall is off and I didn't heal up.

I die from fall damage. The damsel idles out. Dumpty ragequits. :D

A day in the life of a fool.


http://i.imgur.com/mh9UN2w.png



Level 7

Skills: Concentration, Heal, Intimidate, Spellcraft, UMD, Balance
Spells: Cure Serious Wound (mo' burst heal), Ice Storm (you know why…), Merfolks Blessing (pure convenience, pick something you fancy)
Enhancements: finished Call Lightning, 3rd dwarven core (+10 HP)

207 HP, 518 SP (unbuffed)

Gear:
- switched to Envenomed Cloak (not casting fire spells)
- switched to Corrupted Boots (ice storm is the new intimidate)
- together with the Charged Gauntlets you get the first set bonus, a whopping +1 Str and +1 casting levels for evocation (=spells you're using most)
- upgraded the belt to +30 false life, con amulet to +5, wis helm to +5
- crafted a Heavy Fortification Ring
- switched to Wizardry goggles (deadly ain't so helpful anymore)

I start playing as a pure caster in groups, staying in dwarven form mostly. The ability to take two targets out of the equation very quickly with Lightning Strike and Creeping Cold (they usually one shot!) is quite powerful, so spell cooldowns start to matter. Solo, I still run with wolf form and flame blades, as the melee damage is still considerable.

Some strategies:

- DPS plenty with SLAs. Kill two casters or archers quickly. Start with Ice Storm for large groups of mobs. Alternatively, just drag the rest of the mobs with you. If you see a ladder (they are evil), stop and kill everything. Follow up with Spikes, when you get a red alert or feel in a hurry. Mop up with melee at leisure.

- Heal on the run. Unmeta'ed style. While everyone and their little doggy is self sufficient these days, it is still appreciated, saving pots and downtime. (If you need actual healing practice, toss everyone a vicious great axe of bleeding. Or type 'no zerg, team players wanted' in your LFM.)

- Help out new players, the never-in-range and dodge-heals-by-the-cunning-use-of-pillars type. Keep up a pragmatic attitude (who cares about 10% from the *base* xp), grab stones, shrine people. Also, remember how life was when you were a kid. Contemplate the difference to today and grab a bunch of chips from the bowl. Sigh. Also, while healing people often makes sense, there's some stuff you just can't prevent...

The Top 5 All-Time-Favorite Noob Instant Deaths
- Death by well placed ogre uppercut
- Death by trip
- Death by being pro, but just a little ("I have pots.", followed by "Does anyone have hireling?")
- Death by overanalyzing ("Wow. Those casters are so OP. That spell did 87 damage!')
- Death by eight con ("my rouge can trap" or "my rouge got evasion")

On a happy note, most PUGs are quite great at this level. I cap my experience points by completing all level 5 house stuff (mostly solo) and finishing the chains that start at that level, Three Barrel Cove, Carnival and Necro I.

[Gnarkh]

"Woff! Woff!"


Level 8

Skills: Concentration, Heal, Intimidate, Spellcraft, UMD, rest in Balance
Spells: Freedom of Movement (one of your staple buffs), Lightning Strike (twice the fun…)
Feats: Winter Wolf (or Dire Bear, if you like to be fat and do terrible damage)
Stat Increase: Wisdom
Enhancements: 1x Spring Resurgence (cast on self or a barb of choice), finish Wax&Wane line, Wisdom

223 HP, 583 SP (unbuffed)

Gear:
- switched the dodge ring for a Cinder's Dance (http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Cinder%27s_Dance)
- upgraded my shield to Greater Stability
- upgraded my Bracers of Wind

Strategies:
- Lightning SLA plus the spell version (no metamagics, so it stays cheap) equals awesome. The weaker spell still has some oneshot potential for low hitpoint mobs like casters and a very fast cooldown. Cycle through single targets quickly with the TAB key and you'll knock them out fast and with precision, beating even arcanes, as your spells won't be blocked by obstacles or other mobs in the line of sight.
- For boss mobs it's a quick one-two chain that never gets old. You'll rarely need Creeping Cold (for now).
- At this level your hitpoints and spell layout make it possible to bypass (read: bruteforce) many traps. Some luck may be involved. :) Howto: Cast Spring Resurgence, Vigor and Lesser Vigor on yourself (or your favorite barbarian). Pray and run.


Unleash your outer wolf!

After a lengthy argument with doggie at a tavern (see picture below…never buy your wolf cocktails…), Lobo asked me to write a few words about my favorite companion:

- Upgrade your wolf enhancements (http://ddowiki.com/page/Wolf_enhancements), my picks at this level: Cunning, Instincts, Bite, Feed, Striding, Takedown
- Keep armor and collar up to date (stuff like Paralyze, Draining or Vertigo is awesome for CC)
- Shipbuff your doggie with resists and stats. (Rightclick pillar, then leftclick the gear symbol on the pet bar)
- Wolf Killer number one is traps. The workaround: tell him to 'Stay' and activate 'Follow' at some distance, so he immediately teleports to you.

Some people only use their wolf as a 'lever puller'. They are doing it wrong. My wolf at level 8 is a fast and permanent 20-something damage DoT. And needs very little attention. Except after bar night.


http://i.imgur.com/sSMPfsi.png

[Gnarkh]

"(Combat): You hit Deep Water Warrior for 1,516 points of electric damage."


Level 9

Skills: Concentration, Heal, Intimidate, Spellcraft, UMD, Balance, Diplomacy
Spells: Reincarnate (a rez, yay!), Stoneskin (*points to build name*), Gust of Wind (to clear firewalls and cloud spells)
Feat: Heighten Spell
Enhancements: 2x Improved Metamagic: Maximize

229 HP, 705 SP

Gear:
- upgraded the wizardry goggles, the wisdom helmet and the constitution amulet
- got my level 9 Silverflame Amulet from the bank, as a death block and beholder switch in

A quite uneventful level with no major improvements or changes in tactics. That being said, who can argue with one shooting mobs - or annihilating hordes of red alert mobs without taking a scratch for that matter. I occasionally get nostalgic feelings, standing in my AoE and shield blocking. Good times. :)

I decide at another minor build change and take Heighten Spell earlier than planned. More DC for my Lightning Strike SLA seems more helpful than a small amount of PRR at the moment.

Stoneskin as a spell choice is a must have. It's The Stonehenge, ya know. :D

Deathward or Firewall would be great alternatives. I'll add them to my arsenal at the next opportunity.

My enhancement choices as this level are quite configurable as well: Since I use maximize quite a bit and spell point usage is a huge consideration, it's my pick for now. Obviously, after adding the splashed class levels, I'll have to do a major respec.

I'm also tempted to make some better bracers - Bracers of Wind, level 11 version, tier 3, with a masterful shard crafted on it...downleveled to 9. I decide against it for now, as my lightning strike does exceptionally well as is and it would be a lot of farming. Maybe on another life. :)


Level 10

Skills: Concentration, Heal, Intimidate, Spellcraft, UMD, Balance, Diplomacy
Spells: Mass Lesser Vigor (the lazy man's group heal), Deathward (another staple buff)
Enhancements: 3rd Improved Metamagic: Maximize, 2x Autumnal Susurrus

250 HP, 765 SP

Another level without any major changes. This time, I don't change any gear, except upgrading my two caster weapons:

- Glaciation Club of Ice Lore: Boss Fights (and well…Taming the Flame…)
- Devotion Club of Healing Lore: I use that in high DPS groups where I feel my melee contribution would at most have symbolical value :P
- Flame Blade: still my default quite often, as it's handy to finish off mobs that are left with 20 hit points after a lightning strike (and when Lobo is trying to search the wall again for beer cans…)

You actually could put a bit more effort into upgrades at this level than I do. Like adding enhancement bonus to your armor and shield to get more AC (yes, AC is great at heroic levels, don't let anyone tell you otherwise…).

It wouldn't add a lot imho, as all the basics are all covered: main stats at +6, Greater Stability, Greater False Life, 100% Fortification and all the caster boosts I'd want.

If you enjoy crafting a lot, play a bit with the Cannith Crafting Planner (http://cannith.cubicleninja.com/) and see what you can come up with.

As level 10 and 11 yield some very fast experience points (most notably, Vault Of Night and Shadow Crypt Farms), I decide to postpone any major gear changes as I'll soon unlock much nicer options to consolidate slots and add new effects, i.e. with Dragonscale, Minos Legens and Lordsmarch items. Which probably means, I'll also break the set bonus from the Chronoscope set. But…not now. :)

However, I have a very nice Acid Burst of Draining collar banked from a past life…Lobo has totally earned an upgrade, when he dragged me through half a quest after a little….accident, involving my attention starved (real life) cat, a can of coke and a very unlucky gaming keyboard - soon to be replaced *sigh*.


http://i.imgur.com/2d0Mg4f.png

(No animals were harmed (http://www.americanhumane.org/animals/programs/no-animals-were-harmed/) in the production of this screenshot - just a barrel shaped dwarf.)

[Gnarkh]

"My new master says you must DIIIIE!"


Level 11

Skills: Concentration, Heal, Intimidate, Spellcraft, UMD, Balance, Diplomacy
Spells: Quench (make tough bosses vulnerable), Greater Creeping Cold (uh yeah baby…), Fire Shield (not essential, but handy…)
Enhancements: Dwarf 4th core, 2/3 Spring Resurgence, 3/3 Autumnal Susurrus
Feats: Dire Bear (well…you gotta take it...)

287 HP, 855 SP (unbuffed, no fancy greensteel…)

Gear:
- replaced my Silverflame Amulet for the upgraded level 11 version
- once more upgraded my Wizardry goggles
- replaced the dodge ring with a speed Item (30%), as my Korthos boots already smelled a little funny…
- grabbed my level 11 Bracers of Wind from the bank, also my Cloak of Flames, for when I use Firewall instead of Ice Storm
- obviously, if you got Greensteel (I don't…sniff), now is the time to fit it in. Obvious candidates for this build are the usual, a Con-Opp item for SP, the SP and HP proc, WIS and charisma skills, which boosts both Initimidate and UMD. And a HP item with any additional stats you fancy. I didn't craft GS yet, as I'll make up my mind for a final gear setup with all the new shiny U21 loot first. Chances are, I'll at least fit in Con-Opp at epic levels as well.

Level Eleven. What can I say. Crazy fast. Crypt. Vault Of Night. And done. :)

Tactics didn't change a lot. I'm tossing out more AoE due to the higher spell point pool.

I make it a habit to bark and stoneskin everyone at the start of the quest, especially in short man groups. Freedom of Movement and Death Ward as well, depending on the quest.

While buffing sadly is getting out of style over the years, I'd rather take the extra effort while running to the first mob group than having to heal at the wrong place or the wrong time. Usually both. (unless someone is very adamant about monk speeding away from me…)

Oh, I maybe should mention something some players don't seem to know: you can target group members with F2-F6. Which beats targeting a bunch of crazy jumping ADHS kids.

Like me. It's one reason I keep heals still on my main bar, as 'F1', then '1' is a very, very fast key combo, if I need a quick burst heal myself.


Level 12

Skills: Concentration, Heal, Intimidate, Spellcraft, UMD, Balance, Diplomacy
Spells: Cure Critical Wounds (mo' burst healing), Mass Vigor (mo' group healing)
Enhancements: 4th core (Sunburst SLA), Strength of the Solstice, 1x Word Of Balance
Feats: Spell Focus: Evocation
Stat Increase: Wisdom

304 HP, 946 SP (you guessed right…unbuffed)

Once more I postpone taking shield feats for some extra DC.

Yeah, faster killing it is. It's clobbering' time! (and freeze 'em solid time…and burn 'em crisp time…and shred 'em to pieces time)

And people say, druids are nature loving peaceniks…

Speaking of mindlessly burning things, I usually don't carry firewall as a permanent spell pick (yet), but obviously, for my undead friends I make exceptions (see picture below…)

The burst damage went up quite a bit this level:
- Gained a whopping +3 to Evocation DC: Solstice, Spell Focus and another wisdom tier
- 2 more cheap Spell Like Abilities

Also, stuff I put in goo is now…blind…shaken…slowed…and really, really ****ed at me.


More cowb...I mean...toolbars!

Setting up my toolbars from scratch to make them useable again took longer than all other level up chores combined this level. :)


http://i.imgur.com/H9z7eVD.png

While this may seem to waste a bit of space...it kind of does the trick at every level range - and I use a very similiar layout on every toon I have, so I'm not utterly confused when I feel like switching to a character I haven't played in a while. I also made it a rule to remove stuff I don't use at least once a day from my bar layout. (the more buttons, the more confusing it gets in a pinch...)

Left Side (top to bottom): Situational Spells, SP pots, Metamagics - Often used buffs - Situational buffs - Attacks on hotkey - Mainbar with heals (for quick brainless access)

Middle: Utility stuff like weapon switches, consumables and stuff I rarely need - like...wolf form lol.

Right: Gear switches and spell components, so I hopefuily notice before those run out

The spell settings (rightclick the icons on the toolbar) are finetuned as well:

- Heals ignore Empower and Maximize (too expensive). They are set to default for Empower Heal, except for my two heals on the '1' and '2' key. Which are always empowered. While I not always need as much burst healing, by now I have enough spellpoints to rather sacrifice some of them then think a moment too long whether I use my 'good' or 'bad' heal. Notably, the only time I turned on empower heal for the last couple levels was raidhealing (a VoN6), as I absolutely needed the additional power for mass vigors.

- How I use the heal spells: My strong burstheals (1+2) do the trick in-fight, while the other heals (3+4) are fillers and also used as very cheap heals out of combat. The vigor and mass vigors (5-8) are used when a player or the group as a whole will surely take damage the next couple seconds. Vigor spells are always more cost effective than their one shot heal counterparts *and* don't overheal as much. Spring Resurgence is used when someone is squishy, out of range (doesn't need Line of Sight), about to walk through a trap. And well, on myself. Always. *g*

- Attacks are all set to default settings, so I can switch on and off meta's depending on shrine availability. 99% of the time I have them maximized, but not empowered which is a good efficiency ratio that works well for me. When I get quicken, it will be 'always on' for spells that have long casts or have to be 100% reliable (earthquake, heal and regenerate come to mind) and set on 'default' for all others.

- SLAs obviously are fully meta'ed, always.


Gear planning...some preperation for level 13

I spend some time in the Lordsmarch Plaza chain to prepare my first major gear overhaul since level one. I decide to use a fully upgraded set (to buff spell elements I don't use a dedicated item for). Unfortunately I also have to break the Chronoscope set bonus for that. No way to fit it in without losing something essential. On the good side, I'm setup for intimidate again and get True Seeing as a freebie.

The gear I end up with now is:

- Helmet: Teraza's Perfect Sight (http://ddowiki.com/page/Teraza%27s_Perfect_Sight)
- Right Ring: Katra's Razor Wit (http://ddowiki.com/page/Katra%27s_Razor_Wit)
- Gloves: Maenya's Iron Fists (http://ddowiki.com/page/Maenya%27s_Iron_Fists)
- Bracers: Bracers of Wind (http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Bracers_of_Wind_%28Level_11%29)
- Cloak: Cloak of Flames (http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Cloak_of_Flames_%28Level_11%29) (or Silverflame Talisman (http://ddowiki.com/page/Silver_Flame_Talisman))
- Amulet: +6 Constitution (or Mantle of the Worldshaper (http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Mantle_of_the_Worldshaper))
- Left Ring: 105% Fortification
- Body: Invulnerability (with either Thorn Guard or Deathblock)
- Belt: Greater False Life
- Boots: 30% Speed
- Goggles: Wizardry
- Trinket: Stalwart Trinket (http://ddowiki.com/page/Stalwart_Trinket) (or Voice of the Master (http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Voice_of_the_Master))
- Shield: Greater Stability
- Weapon: Ice or Devotion stick (see above)

For doggie I make a Lordsmarch item as well: Vampiric Stonedust Wraps (http://ddowiki.com/page/Vampiric_Stonedust_Wraps), which is a great weapon at this level for the self healing and the occasional stone proc.

(And here I have to admit I went a little bit ahead of myself and wrote the gear guide for this level at server down, before I actually crafted the upgraded Lordsmarch set...which is for level 13, not 12....so...sorry for the mistake, I'll be moving this section as soon as I write the guide for the next level :) To all the animal lovers out there...Lobo still got his collar...)


http://i.imgur.com/UhHLqzS.png

[Michele]

nice screenshot the flaming one :D
what is that?

[Gnarkh]

what is that?

It's a shadow crypt farm, last room before the end fight. Was a couple of party members, so I did the Spikes and Ice Storm in the middle while the other druids and the wizzy made it an effort to decorate the corners with an insane amount of firewalling. :)