Searching for an interesting PDK build

[Chaoscheerio]

Hello there!
I am wondering if there's anyone out there willing to help me figure out what to do with my next life :p
I just bought PDK and after 18 lives I'm bored of the usual. I'm seeking a PDK build that is preferably capable of going into epic elites without a bunch of gear investment, as most of my epic gear is centered around casting or being a robot, sadly. I do own a sword of shadows and thunderforged greatsword ML24 though!

About me:
Completionist, so hoping to incorporate that. 2 lives of: Monk, FVS, Sorc, Cleric, Druid. 2 Bladeforged lives.
Not a fan of casting, in spite of what my past lives say.
Most of my gear that I own is centered around either a greatsword or handwraps, that being said I'm looking to get away from the monk playstyle, due to PRR and MRR existing now.

Other than that, I'm pretty flexible. I love playing melee, and when I played around as a divine crusader FVS bladeforged I was in love, so I'm hoping to find something similar in PDK. Any advice or build ideas would be excellent! Thank you in advance <3

[Ancient]

I took a 15 Pally/4 FVS/1 Fighter version of the steel shrine into epics and I don't have amazing gear. I didn't go with the exact enhancement layout since I'm working on a martial past life and thus I'm in the LD destiny (I am heavy in KOTC with 22 in warpriest, 13 in Sacred Defender and 3 in PDK race).

I'm doing EEs and I don't have great gear. From 20-23 I used a cleric commendation bastard sword and at 23 I used a raiders box celestia. Most of my armor is just commendation gear with a few crafted pieces.

[Chaoscheerio]

I did some playing around in the character planner last night and considering my paladin life was a blast, I've been looking at an 18 paladin/2 fighter build. Going for high stunning blow DC with charisma to damage, I miss out on the capstone but gain a couple feats, namely completionist and a toughness feat.

Although it's a little less interesting than I'd be hoping for, it looks like it could work.

[Nuclear_Elvis]

PDK Bard with CHA based melee that is viable for Sonic magic or melee. First level forced as Fighter, all other levels to Bard.
10 10 16 10 8 18 and apply all level based ability increases to CHA. You could put more points to INT and dump STR and DEX if you really want more skill increases given that you build the character up to 15 without chance to find a tome (unless you're buying).
Take the PDK racial enhancement - Cormyr for CHA conversion (only 4 weapons that works for, so limit the character to one of those). Force of Personality may be a good Feat as result of high CHA also. Initial Feats: Shield Mastery if you're going Swashbuckler or also because of low DEX to keep up the protection, Slash focus (longsword or greatsword, or even short sword for Swashbuckler), Force of Pers. The Bard enhancement trees have enhancements that would otherwise be Feats chosen at levels - get them free from the enhance tree instead.
Use the Harper Tree a bit also if you have it, boost CHA further. Any of the 3 Bard trees are a possibility, since you have both the spell and melee stat boosted.
PDK core should have CHA boosted initially, CON on 2nd pick (IMO).

The Swashbuckler tree is fairly new and a bit powerful, if you hadn't tried it yet. Although low DEX, the tree boosts Dodge quite a bit but you're forced to stay with light armor. Other trees - could tank it a bit more w/heavier armor and roll the dice for the armor's nerf to spell chance.
Other options to consider - could go Single Weapon Fighting instead of Shield Mastery if you intend to carry an Orb in offhand instead of shield.
There's prob a thread on PDK bard somewhere - recommend using it primarily, just posting a rough draft here to think about.

[Fedora1]

I'll second the bard, but not exactly the same as the poster above. I went Bard16/fighter2/rogue2 on my PDK (swash and SWF) and it was simply awesome. First lifer, was able to solo EH content like it was heroic normal, and easily pulled my weight in EE parties. No awesome gear, let me see IIRC:

Shadowmail
Sword of Day
Lootgen buckler w/bash/flurry
lootgen ring w/deadly and whatever gives 225SP
Ghost Waking Coak
Glorious Dawn (L26 version) w/PRR 12 augment
War Wizards Bracers
PDK Gloves and Helm
L27 Skirmishers Lenses w/blindess immune augment
Lootgen Belt w/ 120% fort, Seeker VII, and yellow slot w/feear immune augment
Golden Guile
Momento of War

[Panzermeyer]

I took a 15 Pally/4 FVS/1 Fighter version of the steel shrine into epics and I don't have amazing gear. I didn't go with the exact enhancement layout since I'm working on a martial past life and thus I'm in the LD destiny (I am heavy in KOTC with 22 in warpriest, 13 in Sacred Defender and 3 in PDK race).

Yea this.

I went more with his CHA based build as it seemed easier to get into gear wise and such.

I am burning out some PDK and Pally past lives for my Caster Druid. And this build has worked great for me. At lvl 20 I just had almost all Eveningstar Comm gear. Bastard swords, using Templar's Retribution. Just finally pulled the shard so was able to make a 20lvl one, but was surprised how well the 16lvl version was working. At lvl 22, I am sitting at 225 prr and 135 mrr with only one divine epic PL. My martial lives were already done, so I such with the Sacred Defender and Divine Crusader ED.

SO far I have only died once in a quest running BB, and that was in WGU when in the **** shadow haze I was chasing a Shadovar and fell through one of the cracks. I have been super impressed with it's survivability.

PDK would also make great Bards with Rapier or Short Swords.


I'm doing EEs and I don't have great gear. From 20-23 I used a cleric commendation bastard sword and at 23 I used a raiders box celestia. Most of my armor is just commendation gear with a few crafted pieces.

What commendation sword is that, the Cleric one is a Short Sword.

[willox2112]

What commendation sword is that, the Cleric one is a Short Sword.

The Star of Day shortswords that you can get from Cleric commendations are much like the Sun Blade and Celestia; they are bastard swords that work as short swords.

[Panzermeyer]

The Star of Day shortswords that you can get from Cleric commendations are much like the Sun Blade and Celestia; they are bastard swords that work as short swords.

Does that mean that it will serve off Glancing Blows from the THF like regular bastard swords?

[Chaoscheerio]

Yea this.

I went more with his CHA based build as it seemed easier to get into gear wise and such.

I am burning out some PDK and Pally past lives for my Caster Druid. And this build has worked great for me. At lvl 20 I just had almost all Eveningstar Comm gear. Bastard swords, using Templar's Retribution. Just finally pulled the shard so was able to make a 20lvl one, but was surprised how well the 16lvl version was working. At lvl 22, I am sitting at 225 prr and 135 mrr with only one divine epic PL. My martial lives were already done, so I such with the Sacred Defender and Divine Crusader ED.


I guess maybe I'm just hesitant to go SWF... I've only done it for one life and I'm really hesitant to try it out again on a non-bard, as I mainly want to be a paladin. Is THF even viable anymore?

[UurlockYgmeov]

can personally recommend this build, especially since running it with Uurlock right now. It is originally planned for human, but easy to swap over to PDK. Slaughters EE.

[Chaoscheerio]

can personally recommend this build, especially since running it with Uurlock right now. It is originally planned for human, but easy to swap over to PDK. Slaughters EE.

Steel Shrine? I've looked it over, but I cannot afford the +1 heart to remove the fighter level unfortunately, so idk how I'd make it work, especially since I have like, 0 gear for it.

[MacRighteous]

The Star of Day shortswords that you can get from Cleric commendations are much like the Sun Blade and Celestia; they are bastard swords that work as short swords.



Does that mean that it will serve off Glancing Blows from the THF like regular bastard swords?

I would like to know the answer for this as well.

[Ancient]

Steel Shrine? I've looked it over, but I cannot afford the +1 heart to remove the fighter level unfortunately, so idk how I'd make it work, especially since I have like, 0 gear for it.

You don't need a +1 heart for the 15 pal/4 FVS/1 fighter version. You do get glancing blows from star of day and celestia if you have bastard sword as a feat. It won't be great since you are missing the THF feat chain. I went that way anyways because the bastard/short sword had great Bases dmg and blindness profs and celestia is a great weapon.

[Chaoscheerio]

You don't need a +1 heart for the 15 pal/4 FVS/1 fighter version. You do get glancing blows from star of day and celestia if you have bastard sword as a feat. It won't be great since you are missing the THF feat chain. I went that way anyways because the bastard/short sword had great Bases dmg and blindness profs and celestia is a great weapon.

Well part of my problem is that I lack a lot of the gear required for such a build, including celestia. I have the cleric comm shortsword but that's about it.

[Ancient]

Well part of my problem is that I lack a lot of the gear required for such a build, including celestia. I have the cleric comm shortsword but that's about it.

The commendation one that price blinding was enough to start doing EEs for me. But have more than one, they wear down fast.

[Chaoscheerio]

Well I guess my question now is... Is THF still viable? I have a lot more greatswords than I do single weapons, and I have a build idea for an 18 paladin/2 fighter that gets empower heal/quicken and uses charisma to hit/damage. Would it be viable in EEs?

[Ancient]

Well I guess my question now is... Is THF still viable? I have a lot more greatswords than I do single weapons, and I have a build idea for an 18 paladin/2 fighter that gets empower heal/quicken and uses charisma to hit/damage. Would it be viable in EEs?

It depends far more on the player than on the gear and build. A huge part of being EE viable is in how you play the game. My guild leader can level far far far faster than I can, both in heroics and in epics. In epics however he levels by zerging epic normal at crazy speeds. He levels fast, but some of the skills/habits he learned in zerging epic normals means that he can have a better build with better gear and struggle more than me in epic elites because I do them more often.

The only way to know what is viable in EE for you.... is to run EE. I can do it with crafted armor and a cleric comm sword... there are people who would say that is not even close to EE.

The one thing I would tell you is that even if you put level-ups into charisma, divine might often puts strength ahead of charisma and thus makes charisma to hit/damage come up short. Run your numbers before you commit to that.

[Chaoscheerio]

It depends far more on the player than on the gear and build. A huge part of being EE viable is in how you play the game. My guild leader can level far far far faster than I can, both in heroics and in epics. In epics however he levels by zerging epic normal at crazy speeds. He levels fast, but some of the skills/habits he learned in zerging epic normals means that he can have a better build with better gear and struggle more than me in epic elites because I do them more often.

The only way to know what is viable in EE for you.... is to run EE. I can do it with crafted armor and a cleric comm sword... there are people who would say that is not even close to EE.

The one thing I would tell you is that even if you put level-ups into charisma, divine might often puts strength ahead of charisma and thus makes charisma to hit/damage come up short. Run your numbers before you commit to that.

Yeah I just had a chat with a friend who does EEs more than anyone I know and he gave me some valuable advice. I'm thinking I'm going to wind up running 16 Paladin/4 Fighter right now with THF just because I miss THF. Every once in a while my SoS calls out to me from the TR cache and says "use me!" and I have to listen!

[Ancient]

Every once in a while my SoS calls out to me from the TR cache and says "use me!" and I have to listen!

I can't even imagine having a SoS, I hope you enjoy your THF build... I'm sure it will do fine swinging that thing around!

[IronClan]

Did this as a Life on Ironrooster:

PDK 1 Fight Paladin 14

LR+1 out of the Fighter level

18CHA at build 16 con 16 STR

All level ups into Charisma

20 Paladin levels

KotC Capstone (for the +4 CHA)

SoS

Twist Soundburst from Exalted Angel

You are shooting for 68-69 or more Soundburst DC I got it to 68 this will 95% stun almost everything in the game except of course the well known Giant and Minotaur/Hobgoblin fort saves in EE Stormhorns and a few other places.

AOE stun everything: Exalted cleave, Avenging Cleave, Holy Retribution (which is a cleave BTW) with very good DC from all the CHA, and Strikedown cleave from Divine Crusader.

You will want great CHA feats, and 6 CHA pips from Divine Crusader (note nothing but CHA will help your soundburst DC so ignore Evo DC twists and Focus feats etc.)

[Ancient]

Holy Retribution (which is a cleave BTW) with very good DC from all the CHA

Holy Retribution costs one turn undead, but restores one exalted smite. I have the two keys next to each other so that I can hit exalted smite and then holy retribution to put the smite right back. Having more than 20 smites means that it is part of my regular attack rotation and it does pretty decent damage now that they removed the delay (or at least for my style of fighting).

[UurlockYgmeov]

Steel Shrine? I've looked it over, but I cannot afford the +1 heart to remove the fighter level unfortunately, so idk how I'd make it work, especially since I have like, 0 gear for it.

oops - forgot the link:

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/443235-The-Count-of-Monte-Cristo-dps-CC-survivability-focused-pure-swashbuckler

[IronClan]

Holy Retribution costs one turn undead, but restores one exalted smite. I have the two keys next to each other so that I can hit exalted smite and then holy retribution to put the smite right back. Having more than 20 smites means that it is part of my regular attack rotation and it does pretty decent damage now that they removed the delay (or at least for my style of fighting).

Yep I think I was up to having over 30 turns because of the CHA focus of the build. So you could spam Holy Retribution and regen smites. HR is sweet as a finishing move inside a big mass of stunned mobs that are mostly damaged.

Build works pretty good, if I ever posted it I was thinking of calling it "Holy Thunder" lol

[Panzermeyer]

I guess maybe I'm just hesitant to go SWF... I've only done it for one life and I'm really hesitant to try it out again on a non-bard, as I mainly want to be a paladin. Is THF even viable anymore?

I am running the original S&B build (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/449262-Steel-Shrine?p=5470727&viewfull=1#post5470727) with Bastard swords using the THF and Shield Mastery. Not his single weapon single build.

[Panzermeyer]

Steel Shrine? I've looked it over, but I cannot afford the +1 heart to remove the fighter level unfortunately, so idk how I'd make it work, especially since I have like, 0 gear for it.

If you look at the original build (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/449262-Steel-Shrine?p=5470727&viewfull=1#post5470727) I believe it was made for PDK. There are at least discussions for options for PDK with the fighter. That is how I am running the build. 15 pal/4fvs/1ftr. For level 20 I run with almost exclusively with eveningstar comm gear.

[Lalangamena]

though it is a thread necro,
i felt i had to re-open it, because very recently i was looking for a nice newbie friendly heroic TR build with iconic race.
why PDK because everybody has PDK if they bought shadowfell conspiracy standard pack.

and stumbled upon the "steel shrine variation" of PDK 1 fighter/4 FVS/ 15 Paladin which is mentioned in this thread,
and respecced and started playing, and this is indeed a very good build for soloing.

but then i realized (yeah i am slow..) that the FVS tree "wars soul" is the same tree as cleric "war priest", and it is better to take cleric levels and stretch them to level 5 for the domain, and take luck domain to get displacement SLA, which goes very well with the build. (protection domain grants you shield SLA which is redundant because this build has "real" shield) and you get more spells than FVS and access to cure serious wounds.
this way you get some domain goodies, and holy sword spell from paladin. (yes, we lose some spell points but 4 levels of spell points from FVS are not that much)

so, first variation:
race: PDK

class: fighter 1, cleric 5, paladin 14.

stats:
str min 13 for power attack, which can be 11 and tome +2
dex- dump stat
con 16
int minimal for some skills, little more if you want UMD.
wis- half dump stat, it gives you spell points and spells. so 10-12 and a wisdom item.
charisma: your main stat, max it up all points to charisma.

cleric deity: CHILD OF HELM, use bastard swords.


1 Fighter: Power attack, Force of Personality, cleave.
2 Cleric: Favoured by HELM
3 Cleric: Shield mastery, Domain luck domain. (or protection for PRR or animal for HP, but luck is better because displacement)
4 Cleric:
5 Cleric:
6 Cleric: Great Cleave
7 Paladin
8 Paladin
9 Paladin: Improved Shield mastery
10 Paladin
11 Paladin
12 Paladin: Improved Critical
13 Paladin
14 Paladin
15 Paladin: empower healing spell (to have some more healing in emergency heals)
16 Paladin
17 Paladin
18 Paladin: improved shield bash-> (optional: if you have high ability tomes and you can get 15 str at this point, it is possible to invest in two handed fighting because it works with bastard sword )
19 Paladin
20 Paladin

Enhancements:
PDK:
human versatility, improved recovery, Cormyrian knight training. -> core 5 points.

warpriest:
smite foe, toughness, Righteous weapons to t3, wall of steel, resilience of battle,charisma+1, burden of sin(2/3 only) and ameliorating strike.->core 22 points.

knight of the chalice:
slayer of evil,extra turning,divine light,extra smite,courage of heaven,exalted cleave, slayer of evil II, vigor of life -> core 16 points.

sacred defender:
holy bastion, sacred armor mastery, durable defense PRR, durable defense saves, sacred defense, tenacious defense hit points, sacred shield mastery, charisma -> 19 points

from here, you still get 18 more points to go where you want to, you can go more into the sacred defender for more protection, or more KoTH for exalted smites or improved restoration to get lost levels back, or put some points to vanguard to reach missile shield.
you can go up to shield mastery fighting style and shield deflection in the PDK tree.


second variation:
LR out of fighter, because you get bastard sword from Favoured by HELM and you don't like tower shields anyway.
go 1 paladin, 2-7 cleric, 8-20 paladin.
and get positive energy burst from the radiant servant tree and even more turns per rest.

Gear:
as much healing amp as you can get without hurting yourself in other areas.
barovian bastard sword if you have the ravenloft expansion, it is just handed to you after the intro quest. level 10 sword better than almost any other bastard sword until level 23.