Two Melee SWBs - help me decide, please

[Gunnolfr45]

I'm about to TR into my first Bard life after several pure melees, and decided to go for the Bard/Fighter/Rogue splash, STR based - because all the good loot I've acquired over the last two lives have been all about STR.

Base Build as follows:

36pt Human True Neutral
STR 16 (+4 tome, +2 ship, + all level ups)
DEC 14 (+4 Tome, +2 ship)
CON 15 (+4 Tome, +2 ship)
INT 14 (+4 Tome, +2 ship)
WIS 8 (+4 Tome, +2 ship)
CHA 14 (+4 Tome, +2 ship)

Level ups that have been recommended to me: RBBBBBBBFBBFFRBBBBBB or RBBBBBBBFBBFRBBBBBRB

First build obviously builds off Stalwart Defender enhancements for defense/survivability, second build adds more SP for Spot/OL and
more AP into the Bard trees and Mechanic (for trapping)

One option for Feats for would be (1) SWF (1H) Dodge (3) Precision (6) Extend Spell OR Shield Mastery (9) Empower Healing Spell (9F) ISWF (12) Quicken Spell (12F) IC Piercing (15) GSWF (18) IC Bludgeoning OR Imp Shield Mastery

About Shield Mastery. Some people swear by it, others say it's a waste of feats since they believe the melee power doesn't stack with SWF. So, which is the truth?

The other option for Feats would be (1) SWF & PA, (3) Cleave at 3, (6) Extend or Shield Mastery, (9) Great Cleave and ISWF, (12) Empower Heal and ICP, (15) GSWF, (18) IC Bludgeon OR Imp Shield Master or Extend (if Shield Mastery at 6)

My thoughts are these - PA gives +5 damage with no AP, Precision gives +5 damage starting at Level 12 with investment in Thread the needle. I'm not sure which is better, but coming from a Barbarian cleave-crazy background, I'm inclined to stick with what I know and go simple with PA and cleaves.

So, I throw myself on your tender mercies and ask for advice.

Thanks in advance!

[N-0cturn]

Hey,

The stats look fine. One could argue for less Charisma to get 16 Con, but in the end it's unlikely to make a big difference.

Level Progression:
I prefer to get the 2nd Rogue level around lvl 10, because around that point Evasion becomes useful (ship resists work most of the time before that point). Since the tomes kick in and bard gives quite a few Skillpoints I never had an issue there. However you don't want to get the last fighter level to late because of skillpoint concerns.

Feats:
I don't really like dodge here. You get 7% Dodge from SB and 4% from inspire Heroism, so you might not benefit from the feat at all because of the dodge cap. Depends on your gear. Force of Personality would be an option. However I would go with Extend + both Shield Mastery feats.
The main benefit from Precision is the 25% Fortification Bypass. On a primary swashbuckler there is no reason to take PA except for cleaves and you don't really need those on a swash. You will insta kill the first mob anyway with coup and then focus in the next target. For big groups, fascinate and kill them off 1 by 1. No Cleave required.

Shield Mastery: The melee power does not stack but the PRR and doublestrike does, which makes those feats quite powerful especially since you can add legendary shield Mastery in Epics as well, for a whooping 15% doublestrike and 30 PRR all-together.

I hope this helps.

[BoBoDaClown]

Precision + Thread = better than PA.

You can take both. i.e. switch Precision on, but use your cleaves (note: Legendary Dreadnought Lay Waste and M. Swing need PA active to work).