pure cleric arcane archer aerenal grace

[LOLingSlayer]

Hi.

I have not played DDO since a bit after the first expansion pack, but I recently came up with this cool build and was wondering if it could work. This build is NOT MEANT TO BE OPTIMAL, but maybe playable with your kind feedback :)
I wanted to make a cleric or fvs healbot but wanted a safe form of dealing (some)damage while still saving my SP. came up with arcane archer as it also uses WIS, and grace(is this enhancment used a lot?) because it means i can dump STR. im not interested in any offensive casting. i am f2p and not sure if i gained enough honor on my main for a 32 points build, but again this is very theoretical as i dont actually play the game atm XD
a few questions if you may:

should i max wis or dex?
will i be able to heal perfectly well without enhancments and feats?
how much damage will i deal compare to other damage dealers and other healers?
are people still playing ddo?
should i splash rogue at some point in the game for extra damage and evasion? keep in mind my high dex.
are these the feats that will give me the maximum ranged damage?


Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 04.28.01
DDO Character Planner Home Page (http://www.rjcyberware.com/DDO)

Level 11 Lawful Good Elf Male
(11 Cleric)
Hit Points: 134
Spell Points: 595
BAB: 8\8\13
Fortitude: 8
Reflex: 8
Will: 10

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Abilities Base Stats Modified Stats
(28 Point) (Level 1) (Level 11)
Strength 8 8
Dexterity 18 21
Constitution 12 12
Intelligence 8 8
Wisdom 16 16
Charisma 10 10

Level 1 (Cleric)
Feat: (Deity) Follower of the Silver Flame
Feat: (Selected) Point Blank Shot


Level 2 (Cleric)


Level 3 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Rapid Shot


Level 4 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: DEX


Level 5 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elf - Elven Accuracy (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Elf - Child of Nature (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Elf - Aerenal Weapon Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Elf - Aerenal Weapon Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Elf - Arcanum (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Elf - Arcanum (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Elf - Aerenal Weapon Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Elf - Arcane Archer (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Elf - Aerenal Grace (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Elf - Aerenal Weapon Training (Rank 1)


Level 6 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Precise Shot
Enhancement: Elf - Elven Dexterity (Rank 1)


Level 7 (Cleric)


Level 8 (Cleric)


Level 9 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Manyshot


Level 10 (Cleric)


Level 11 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Elf - Skill (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Elf) - Arcane Archer (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Elf) - Morphic Arrows (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Elf) - Metalline Arrows (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Elf) - Corrosive Arrows (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Elf) - Awareness (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Elf) - Awareness (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Elf) - Inferno Shot (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Elf) - Inferno Shot (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Elf) - Inferno Shot (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Elf) - Terror Arrows (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Elf) - Terror Arrows (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Elf) - Soul Magic (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Elf) - Dexterity (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Elf) - Banishing Arrows (Rank 1)




any help will be very appreciated, thanks in advance! :)

[Sisma]

Missing some info... Can't see anyrhing past level 11, is it intended?

[LOLingSlayer]

Missing some info... Can't see anyrhing past level 11, is it intended?

oops, well it is intended but i did not realize how weird this looks until now XD
i was pretty pessimistic and i dont know enough about lategame to really continue this past 11. also i think it gets pretty simple after around that level since i dont need to cramp all the feats and enhancments any more. and you can see where this build is going by that point, so maybe you can make a rough sketch on your own.

[Paladin20]

Hi.

I have not played DDO since a bit after the first expansion pack, but I recently came up with this cool build and was wondering if it could work. This build is NOT MEANT TO BE OPTIMAL, but maybe playable with your kind feedback :)
I wanted to make a cleric or fvs healbot but wanted a safe form of dealing (some)damage while still saving my SP. came up with arcane archer as it also uses WIS, and grace(is this enhancment used a lot?) because it means i can dump STR. im not interested in any offensive casting. i am f2p and not sure if i gained enough honor on my main for a 32 points build, but again this is very theoretical as i dont actually play the game atm XD
a few questions if you may:

should i max wis or dex?
will i be able to heal perfectly well without enhancments and feats?
how much damage will i deal compare to other damage dealers and other healers?
are people still playing ddo?
should i splash rogue at some point in the game for extra damage and evasion? keep in mind my high dex.
are these the feats that will give me the maximum ranged damage?

any help will be very appreciated, thanks in advance! :)

The Cleric archer has been a concept I've been tinkering with since the good old Mod 3 DQ days when the Sands of Menechtarun was the end-game. To answer your questions in no particular order:

I) Grace is a game-changer and indeed many people use it. STR becomes the biggest dump stat for your Elven archer.

II) I would not make this build on anything less than a 32-point character because you have 2 primary stats Wis and Dex regardless of which one you choose to max out. Keep in mind Elf still has a -2 CON penalty which you need to invest some build points to patch up, and you have 2 secondary stats in Int (for Spellcraft) and Cha (for UMD and Diplomacy/Perform and SP pool if you choose to go with Favored Soul).
Arcane Archer works really well with a class that has enhancements that boost spell power as the new Elemental Arrows scale somewhat (devs have not committed to nor confirmed exact amount) with spell power.

III) If you are not interested in offensive casting, go with a DEX build instead. You can heal just as well without maximizing WIS, and the amount your spells heal for are tied to Positive Spell Power. The synergy with Arcane Archer is that there are many enhancements that will give you Universal Spell Power. There is also a lot to be gained from Epic Destinies these days so that if you build your character well it is capable of dishing out very respectable DPS and having the means to heal a raid party if necessary. The way the current game is played and the plethora of enhancement choices and abilities that allow everyone to be pretty self-sufficient that comparing your build with other "healers" is a moot point. Archers are not at the very top of the DPS after the "re-balancing" and some recent changes to Manyshot but they can still have a top burst damage while in Manyshot running in the Fury of the Wild epic destiny.

My take on offensive casting is that it is still very effective on Heroic levels with a 34+ WIS, and even maxed out dedicated DC-casters are struggling in epic elite currently.

IV) I would consider splashing 2 Monk instead of Rogue because you will need the extra feats to make an effective archer. Clerics and Favored Souls are rather feat-starved. The feats that give you the most ranged damage are Manyshot, Improved Precise Shot, Improved Critical: Ranged, Overwhelming Critical (Epic), Combat Archery (Epic), Past Life: Ranger (Passive), Past Life: Monk (Passive).

For your reference, I will give you a simple layout of my Arcane Archer Soul as I call it. I focused on Dex with Wis about 6 points behind Dex. She is a blast to play, the build is capable of soloing almost anything even on Epic Elite with the proper gear, and I did many TRs on her (3 Ranger, 3 Sorc, 1 FvS, should do 3 more Monk).

FvS 17/Monk 2/Fighter 1
Elf, Lawful Neutral

Starting Stats
Str 8
Dex 18 + 6 Level Ups
Con 13
Int 12
Wis 15 + 1 Level Up
Cha 14

Feats 10 (7 Heroic, 2 Monk, 1 Fighter), 3 Epic
Point Blank Shot
Rapid Shot
Manyshot
Precise Shot
Improved Critical: Ranged
Maximize
Quicken
(M1) Zen Archery
(M2) Toughness
(F1) Imp Precise Shot
Leveling Order: Monk, Monk, FvS 3-19, Fighter (switching out feats to have Imp Precise Shot as early as possible)

Epic L21 Combat Archery
Epic L24 Overwhelming Critical
Epic L27 Epic Reflexes/Blinding Speed

Skills: UMD, Spellcraft, Heal, Concentration, Diplomacy. Invest a bit into Perform, Jump, Balance, and Tumble given enough skill points/Int tome.

Epic Destinies:
Best burst bow damage- Fury of the Wild
Best sustained bow damage- Legendary Dreadnought
*currently leveling Shiradi Champion and will try Divine Crusader as well

Offensively she is doing over 250 damage on a regular hit at level 24 without the best gear (100+ first number, 115-150 average range on elemental arrows, + other effects). Small crits for 600-ish first number, and big crits over 1200 during Manyshot without using any boosts like Slayer Arrow or Adrenaline Overload. With Adrenaline Overload + Manyshot + Slayer Arrow or Master's Blitz + Manyshot + Slayer Arrow you will see some sick numbers in the high thousands.

In terms of defense and survival ability, after they changed AC mechanics the build has gone from amazing to above average but still manageable since the play style is very much move around and shoot things down with a bow. It does have Evasion and excellent saves (pretty much as good as it gets without Paladin levels), but because robes don't provide much AC and no PRR/MRR, you are pretty much forced into getting a lot of Epic and Iconic past lives to make it easier on yourself. The FvS ability Leap of Faith is nice for questing/zerging and serving as a "oh s***" escape button to get away to heal up.

Hope that helps, I very much enjoy the build, it's effective and fun to play. Takes a lot of work to get to the optimum result, I'm still not there, but at least that makes for an end-game objective. I can be found on Thelanis as Kaylesa (this very same build), which has become my main toon. Feel free to ask any questions and I will gladly answer to the best of my knowledge.

[Paladin20]

Forgot to mention my previous FvS life build which was essentially a Favored Soul "Monkcher".
Come to think of it, this would be the max bow DPS build where you sacrifice mana pool, higher level spells and Leap of Faith to get access to 10k Stars. In terms of game play you would toggle between 10k Stars and Manyshot just like the other monkcher builds. This version is not so good for healing groups/raids but nowadays this game is such a solo or zergfest anyways that it wouldn't matter much.
In this case, you max out WIS and the level split is 14 FvS/6 Monk. The only major change as far as enhancements go would be to spec for passive ki regeneration.

[Enoach]

Just a couple notes.

First and foremost this looks like it could be a lot of fun.

Second Wisdom and Dexterity - No matter what as a pure cleric you need to be able to reach the 19 Wisdom to be able to cast level 9 spells. That on its own is not difficult, IE starting 13 with a +6 Item (adjustment with tomes). But if you are planning on using the AA abilities which now use Wisdom as a factor of the DC, then you will not want to skimp here either. If planning on using Grace (which I think is a solid idea because you don't need bow strength so one less feat) then you want to strike a balance with Wisdom and Dexterity.

Might even consider Medium Armor to get more benefit from the Dexterity while not losing as much PRR.

Feats - Generally speaking many Clerics tend to OVER heal and end up throwing away Spell Points. You may find your Spell point pool feels bigger going without Metas like Empower Heal. In my opinion Max and Empower spell are really only necessary if you are planning your DPS to come from Spells. But if you have room adding Maximize as an option to fall back on is not a bad idea.

[unbongwah]

should i max wis or dex?
That depends: do you want to focus on ranged DPS or caster / AA DCs?

will i be able to heal perfectly well without enhancments and feats?
Define "perfectly well." Good enough to keep yourself alive in most content? Sure. As good as a healer-specced Radiant Servant? No, of course not.

how much damage will i deal compare to other damage dealers and other healers?
Ummm...not much? :( Archery has always been a backloaded combat style; the recent changes have buffed archers who go "all in" for ranged dmg, but they're less kind to the "dabblers," so to speak.

Is there any particular to stay pure cleric? Do you have a DEX tome you could use?

[Enderoc]

Maybe 1 or 2 wizard (taking Maximize and Empower to boost spell power for your arrows and amp heals) 6-7 Cleric, and 12-13 ranger?

Another thing to consider is taking Sorc levels instead to be an Elemental Savant to increase your spellpower for one particular type of Elemental Arrow and even make enemies vulnerable to that damage....while looking for a good TOEE bow.

[LOLingSlayer]

thanks for the help! :D
i created my character and i am now lvl 5. but first, responding to all the suggestions:


II) I would not make this build on anything less than a 32-point character
turns out i had 28 points. still went with it because thats what i wanted.


IV) I would consider splashing 2 Monk instead of Rogue because you will need the extra feats to make an effective archer.
i dont have monk since im f2p.


Maybe 1 or 2 wizard (taking Maximize and Empower to boost spell power for your arrows and amp heals) 6-7 Cleric, and 12-13 ranger?
i want to make a healer, and this is way too much splashing for that.


this is where im standing right now.decided to take fvs because cleric is only better with enhancments and im planning on spending it all on AA. i will take precise shot at level 6.



Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 04.28.01
DDO Character Planner Home Page (http://www.rjcyberware.com/DDO)

healnbow Dambi
Level 5 Neutral Good Elf Male
(5 Favored Soul)
Hit Points: 75
Spell Points: 433
BAB: 3\3
Fortitude: 5
Reflex: 8
Will: 7

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Abilities Base Stats Modified Stats
(28 Point) (Level 1) (Level 5)
Strength 8 8
Dexterity 16 18
Constitution 12 12
Intelligence 8 8
Wisdom 16 16
Charisma 14 14

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

Level 1 (Favored Soul)
Feat: (Deity) Follower of the Silver Flame
Feat: (Selected) Point Blank Shot
Spell (1): Bless
Spell (1): Cure Light Wounds


Level 2 (Favored Soul)
Spell (1): Divine Favor


Level 3 (Favored Soul)
Feat: (Selected) Rapid Shot
Spell (1): Shield of Faith


Level 4 (Favored Soul)
Ability Raise: DEX
Spell (2): Cure Moderate Wounds


Level 5 (Favored Soul)
Feat: (Favored Soul Bonus) Energy Resistance: Fire
Spell (2): Resist Energy
Enhancement: Elf - Elven Accuracy (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Elf - Elven Dexterity (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Elf - Child of Nature (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Elf - Aerenal Weapon Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Elf - Aerenal Weapon Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Elf - Arcanum (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Elf - Aerenal Weapon Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Elf - Arcane Archer (Rank 1)




healnbow on khyber, if anyone wanna group up :)
and again thanks for the tips and ideas.

[unbongwah]

Caveat: Turbine says they're not done with revising AAs yet, so we don't know yet what changes are still to come.

That said, the current AA tree encourages you to either (A) focus on WIS to boost your DCs for Terror / Paralyzing / Smiting / Banishing arrows, which has obvious synergies with a WIS-based caster like cleric or druid; or (B) focus on your dmg stat (STR/DEX/INT) and your elemental imbues to max out DPS that way. Let's take a look at a build which does the latter; 28 pts w/out tomes to start makes it challenging, but not impossible.

Warpriest Archer
18/2 Favored Soul/Ranger
Lawful Good Elf


Level Order

1. Ranger 6. Ranger 11. Favored Soul 16. Favored Soul
2. Favored Soul 7. Favored Soul 12. Favored Soul 17. Favored Soul
3. Favored Soul 8. Favored Soul 13. Favored Soul 18. Favored Soul
4. Favored Soul 9. Favored Soul 14. Favored Soul 19. Favored Soul
5. Favored Soul 10. Favored Soul 15. Favored Soul 20. Favored Soul


Stats
28pt Tome Level Up
---- ---- --------
Strength 14 4: STR
Dexterity 18 +2 8: STR
Constitution 12 12: DEX
Intelligence 8 16: STR
Wisdom 8 20: STR
Charisma 14 24: STR
28: STR

Skills
R F F F F R F F F F F F F F F F F F F F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
------------------------------------------------------------
Spellcr 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 20
Heal 4 5 9
Search 4 4
Spot 4 4
Balance 1 1
Tumble 1 1
------------------------------------------------------------
20 1 1 1 1 5 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1


Feats

1 : Point Blank Shot
1 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Undead
2 Deity : Follower of: Silver Flame
3 : Precise Shot
4 Deity : Child of: Silver Flame
6 : Precision
7 FavSoul: Energy Resistance: Electricity
8 Deity : Silver Flame Exorcism
9 : Manyshot
12 : Improved Critical: Ranged
12 FavSoul: Energy Resistance: Fire
14 Deity : Beloved of: Silver Flame
15 : Improved Precise Shot
17 FavSoul: Energy Resistance: Cold
18 : Quicken Spell
21 Epic : Empower Healing Spell
24 Epic : Overwhelming Critical
26 Destiny: Epic Spell Power: Positive or Fire
27 Epic : Combat Archery
28 Destiny: Doubleshot


Spells



Divine Favor, Bless, Nightshield, Obscuring Mist
Lesser Restoration, Resist Energy, Cure Moderate Wounds, Remove Paralysis
Mass Aid, Cure Serious Wounds, Prayer, Magic Circle Against Evil
Freedom of Movement, Death Ward, Restoration, Divine Power
Raise Dead, Mass Cure Light Wounds, Divine Punishment, Stalwart Pact
Heal, Heroes' Feast, Greater Dispel Magic
Resurrection, Mass Protection from Elements, Greater Restoration
Mass Cure Critical Wounds, Mass Death Ward
Mass Heal or Energy Drain



Enhancements (80 AP)

Elf (14 AP)


Elven Accuracy, Elven Dexterity, Elven Accuracy II

Aerenal Weapon Training
Aerenal Weapon Training, Arcanum I
Arcane Archer



Elf-Arcane Archer (41 AP)


Arcane Archer, Morphic Arrows, Metalline Arrows, Aligned Arrows, Shadow Arrows, Mystical Archer

Conjure Arrows, Flaming Arrows
Force Arrows III, Inferno Shot III, Elemental Damage
Shattermantle Shot III, Terror Arrows, Soul Magic, Elemental Damage
Paralyzing Arrows, Elemental Damage
Moonbow, Arrow of Slaying, Elemental Damage, Runebow



Warpriest (24 AP)


Smite Foe, Resilience of Battle, Sanctuary, Blur

Divine Might III, Righteous Weapons
Wall of Steel III, Righteous Weapons, Inflame III, Inflame: Saving Throws II
Righteous Weapons, Inflame: Energy Absorption III



Deepwood Stalker (1 AP)


Far Shot



Destiny (24 AP)

Divine Crusader


Bane of Undeath, Interrogation, Purge the Wicked
Consecration III, Flames of Purity II
Sacred Ground, Empyrean Magic, Blessed Blades
No Regret, Crusade
Castigation, Heavenly Presence, Celestial Champion


Twists of Fate (14 fate points)


Haste Boost (Tier 3 Dreadnought)
Pin (Tier 2 Shiradi)
Extra Action Boost (Tier 1 Dreadnought)


A few comments about the rationale behind my build choices:

On this build, the +2 DEX tome is the free one you can obtain thru 1750 Favor (http://ddowiki.com/page/Favor#Total_Favor). I put the lvl 12 stat pt into DEX to meet the Imp Prec Shot pre-req. So you do not need a DEX tome until lvl 27 for Combat Archery, giving you plenty of time to Favor-farm to get one (or save up to buy one off AH).
Rather than DEX to dmg, I recommend going the STR+Div Might route, which will eventually net you a higher dmg mod. As a FvS, you want good CHA anyway for spell casting min reqs plus extra SPs. It also saves a few APs to go the STR route.
A rgr 2 splash really helps out this build: two free feats (Bow STR + Rapid Shot), extra skill pts, DWS core (+5m PBS range and +1d6 SA), early access to low-tier AA enhancements (since it takes a while before you have enough APs to unlock racial AA PrE).
Enhancements: you need to spend 14 APs in elf to unlock racial AA treee and another 41 APs into AA for capstone, which leaves 25 to spread as you see fit. You can see I mostly spent them in Warpriest, with 1 AP into DWS. Another option would be to ditch Inflame to focus on more DPS bonuses from elf & DWS.
I went with Flaming Arrows to take advantage of all the Fire Spellpower in Warpriest and Div Crusader. Downside is fire is not the best choice for current endgame, so choose your imbue based on what you're fighting.
I went Lawful Good for DR-breaking purposes w/Blessed Blades. You want to keep Shadow Arrows active for +5% doubleshot; so I recommend stocking up on Deneith arrows (http://ddowiki.com/page/Favor#House_Deneith) rather using Metalline arrows in epics.