any updated Acrobat builds?

[MithrilSoul]

Just returning to the game after...a long time. Rather than reviving an old character, I want to start something new. Quarterstaff Acrobat thief sounds fun. But I'm getting the sense in this forum that some recent passes on the class have changed things some.

Can someone point me to a thread that gives an Acrobat build compatible with the current state of the class? Or something at least reasonably close?

Thanks...

[Grailhawk]

Just returning to the game after...a long time. Rather than reviving an old character, I want to start something new. Quarterstaff Acrobat thief sounds fun. But I'm getting the sense in this forum that some recent passes on the class have changed things some.

Can someone point me to a thread that gives an Acrobat build compatible with the current state of the class? Or something at least reasonably close?

Thanks...

I'm not sure if there is a current build but If you want an Acrobat build you will be fine. I would do 20 Rogue Bladeforged with all tier 5 and the Acrobat capstone enough AP in Bladeforged for Reconstruction and Power of the Forge the rest in Harper and Assassin.

Human can work but you will need to twist Cocoon and might prefer Divine Crusader over Dreadnought or Shadow Dancer.

[unbongwah]

Can someone point me to a thread that gives an Acrobat build compatible with the current state of the class? Or something at least reasonably close?
Andoris's thread (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/459818-Centered-Thief-Acrobat) if you want a monk-splashed centered build. Converting to pure rogue is pretty straight-forward. Note that the recent nerf to crit range bonuses has hit Acrobats, particularly if you use Sireth and/or Divine Crusader. According to Andoris, Tempests beat Acrobats (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/467639-regarding-stick-builds?p=5723145&viewfull=1#post5723145), though that's with lots of caveats.

FWIW, this is the build I plan to use for my next SDK ITR:

SDK Acrobat
Rogue 20
True Neutral Shadar-kai


Stats
36pt Tome Level Up
---- ---- --------
Strength 13 +5 4: DEX
Dexterity 20 +2 8: DEX
Constitution 13 +2 12: DEX
Intelligence 16 +2 16: DEX
Wisdom 8 +2 20: DEX
Charisma 6 +2 24: DEX
28: DEX

Skills
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
------------------------------------------------------------
Disable 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
Open Lo 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
Search 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
Spot 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
Bluff 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
Hide 4 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 23
Move Si 4 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 23
Tumble 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
UMD 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
Balance 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 16
Concent 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11
Heal 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11
------------------------------------------------------------
44 11 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12


Feats

1 : Power Attack
3 : Cleave
6 : Great Cleave
9 : Two Handed Fighting
10 Rogue : Defensive Roll
12 : Improved Critical: Bludgeoning
13 Rogue : Improved Evasion
15 : Improved Two Handed Fighting
16 Rogue : Opportunist
18 : Greater Two Handed Fighting
19 Rogue : Crippling Strike
21 Epic : Overwhelming Critical
24 Epic : Improved Sneak Attack
26 Destiny: Perfect Two Weapon Fighting
27 Epic : Watchful Eye
28 Destiny: Perfect Two Handed Fighting


Enhancements (80 AP)

Shadar-kai (20 AP)


Shadar-kai Grit, Dexterity

Spiked Chain Attack
Vicious Chain, Ghostly Essence III, Guile
Slashing Chain, Forceful Chain, Guile
Whirling Chain, Gloom Stalker



Thief-Acrobat (52 AP)


Staff Control, Stick Fighting, Tumbler, Kip Up, Cartwheel Charge, Followthrough

Acrobat Staff Training, Thief Acrobatics III, Fast Movement
Acrobat Staff Training, Quick Strike III, Haste Boost III
Acrobat Staff Training, Shadow Dodge III, Sweeping Strikes III
Acrobat Staff Training, Improved Defensive Roll III, No Mercy III, Staff Lunge I
Acrobat Staff Training, Staff Specialization, Spinning Staff Wall, Vault



Harper Agent (8 AP)


Agent of Good I

Harper Enchantment, Traveler's Toughness II
Know the Angles III




Destiny (24 AP)

Legendary Dreadnought


Legendary Tactics III, Extra Action Boost III
Momentum Swing III, Imp. Power Attack
Lay Waste, Critical Damage II
Lightning Mace
Advancing Blows, Devastating Critical
Master's Blitz, Pulverizer


Twists of Fate (22 fate points)


Grim Precision (Tier 3 Shadowdancer)
Sacred Ground (Tier 3 Crusader)
Consecration (Tier 2 Crusader)


SDK chain atks probably aren't worth it, but I've never tried speccing for them before, so figured I'd give a shot. :) Easy enough to change enhancements later.

EDIT: unfortunately for me, Sireth is my primary epic staff and it still doesn't work w/Pulverizer. :( So I plan to farm for Bone Crusher and/or Elemental Bloom before my ITR. Fortunately, they're BtA, so I can use any toon to acquire them, not just this one.

[dunklezhan]

Wow. Folks this person has had a long break, and you're posting builds that need paid for races, named loot, +6 tomes and multiple past lives. I mean it isn't that the advice is bad but its based on a ton of assumptions without any kind of advice on options for someone without all that stuff.

I know nothing about stick builds so I don't want to give bad advice but maybe op if you tell us more about what you have access to, and whether your concern is heroic, epic, getting past lives, whether you have any high level alts to grind out gear for your acrobat, you might get some more definitely useful advice for your situation

[Grailhawk]

Wow. Folks this person has had a long break, and you're posting builds that need paid for races, named loot, +6 tomes and multiple past lives.

I know nothing about stick builds so I don't want to give bad advice but maybe op if you tell us more about what you have access to, and whether your concern is heroic, epic, getting past lives, whether you have any high level alts to grind out gear for your acrobat, you might get some more definitely useful advice.

He asked a general question he gets a general answer.

He did also say
Can someone point me to a thread that gives an Acrobat build compatible with the current state of the class? Or something at least reasonably close?

Current state of the class kind of implies current max.

[MithrilSoul]

Thanks for the replies. And yes, my apologies for not giving more info.

Premium Player. I have 32 point builds open. I just purchased the Shadowfall CE during the 85% off sale, so I have access to the iconic races, though honestly none of them particularly appeal to me a whole lot.

Highest level character I have ever had in the game was level 11 or 12. And that was back at least 2-3 years ago. Haven't played since then. I remember having purchased a few of the zones for quests, but honestly I don't even remember anymore which ones.

I think between all of the characters on my account right now, I probably have around 50k platinum total. When I was playing back then, it was just solo so I definitely don't have any "big time" loot that would have required a raid or anything of that sort.

I'm back playing now, just as a "dabbler." Not going to be investing tons of time into the game, certainly not looking to min-max or do anything serious in terms of endgame content. Just hop on for an hour or two here and there and have some fun poking around the big DDO world.

I hope that helps some. Thanks.

[Grailhawk]

Thanks for the replies. And yes, my apologies for not giving more info.

Premium Player. I have 32 point builds open. I just purchased the Shadowfall CE during the 85% off sale, so I have access to the iconic races, though honestly none of them particularly appeal to me a whole lot.

Highest level character I have ever had in the game was level 11 or 12. And that was back at least 2-3 years ago. Haven't played since then. I remember having purchased a few of the zones for quests, but honestly I don't even remember anymore which ones.

I think between all of the characters on my account right now, I probably have around 50k platinum total. When I was playing back then, it was just solo so I definitely don't have any "big time" loot that would have required a raid or anything of that sort.

I'm back playing now, just as a "dabbler." Not going to be investing tons of time into the game, certainly not looking to min-max or do anything serious in terms of endgame content. Just hop on for an hour or two here and there and have some fun poking around the big DDO world.

I hope that helps some. Thanks.

Quarterstaff build is kind of hard with out named quarterstaffs. The base quarterstaff is really a lousy weapon d6 and 20/2 is the worst profile i can think of (even the d4 weapons have much better crit profiles).

that will be your biggest issue.

In low level heroics an Arlyn's Staff or Chieftain's Spear will go a long way. Not sure how hard the Spear is to get but Arlyn's isn't that hard might even find it on the AH for less then 50k plat.

Mid level is where you will run into an issue none of the Quarterstaff worth having in that level range are easy to get IMO. At 20 Stout Oak Walking Stick which is easy to farm can probably take you all the way to cap if you get that high level this time around.

That said I kind of think Rogue is the wrong class for you. How interested in Paladin are you? If you want to stick to quarterstaff a 15/5 Paladin/Rogue would be much easier to play.

[Propane]

Below is a build I am playing with - so far so good, LV 23 now...

Food for thought- enjoy!

I am mixing ideas from two very different builts...

Big F'n Stick Build
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=158960&highlight=big+stick+build

Shuricannon
https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/423018-Shiradi-Shuricannon



I am looking at...

Drow DEX based - DEX bonus and improved ranged DPS with Shuriken
(extra throw % based on DEX - stacking)

13 Rogue
Improved Evasion
Defensive Roll
Full Spot/Search/OL/DD/Diplo/UMD with some Balance and Jump
Arcobat 5 (with upcoming improvements - will be better)
Sneak Attack
Qstaff speed with DEX to hit and DMG

6 Monk
Shadow Veil (25% miss chance)
Shuriken (extra throw % based on DEX - stacking)
Extra sneak attack
Tier 4 Monk Stances
Feats - allows for Cleave/Great Cleave with Full Two Handed Fighting

1 Fighter
Extra Feat...



Note highish STR requirement for Two Handed Fighting

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 04.23.01
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 28 Lawful Good Drow Male
(1 Fighter / 6 Monk / 13 Rogue / 8 Epic)
Hit Points: 340
Spell Points: 0

BAB: 14/14/19/24
Fortitude: 14
Reflex: 27
Will: 9

Starting
Abilities Base Stats
(30 Point) (Level 1)
Strength 15
Dexterity 18
Constitution 14
Intelligence 12
Wisdom 8
Charisma 10

Tomes Used
All +3 , kick in at 3,7,11

Level 1 (Rogue)
Skill: Balance (+4)
Skill: Diplomacy (+4)
Skill: Disable Device (+4)
Skill: Jump (+4)
Skill: Open Lock (+4)
Skill: Search (+4)
Skill: Spot (+4)
Skill: Tumble (+4)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+4)
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Rogue
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack

Level 2 (Rogue)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Bluff (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Open Lock (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Spot (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)

Level 3 (Rogue)
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Bluff (+1)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Open Lock (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Spot (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Cleave

Level 4 (Monk)
Ability Raise: DEX
Skill: Concentration (+5)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Two Handed Fighting

Level 5 (Monk)
Skill: Concentration (+3)
Skill: Spot (+2)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Deflect Arrows

Level 6 (Monk)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+3)
Skill: Spot (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Great Cleave
Feat: (Monk Path) Path of Harmonious Balance: Fists of Light

Level 7 (Rogue)
Skill: Search (+4)
Skill: Spot (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+4)

Level 8 (Monk)
Ability Raise: DEX
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+2)
Skill: Jump (+2)

Level 9 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+2)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Spot (+2)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Handed Fighting

Level 10 (Monk)
Skill: Balance (+3)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Spot (+1)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Dodge

Level 11 (Rogue)
Skill: Disable Device (+3)
Skill: Open Lock (+2)
Skill: Search (+4)
Skill: Spot (+1)

Level 12 (Rogue)
Ability Raise: DEX
Skill: Disable Device (+6)
Skill: Open Lock (+4)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Bludgeoning Weapons

Level 13 (Rogue)
Skill: Diplomacy (+3)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Open Lock (+2)
Skill: Search (+2)
Skill: Spot (+2)

Level 14 (Rogue)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Spot (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+7)

Level 15 (Rogue)
Skill: Diplomacy (+2)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Open Lock (+4)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Spot (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Master of Forms

Level 16 (Rogue)
Ability Raise: DEX
Skill: Diplomacy (+5)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Open Lock (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Spot (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Rogue Bonus) Improved Evasion

Level 17 (Fighter)
Skill: Jump (+4)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Greater Two Handed Fighting

Level 18 (Rogue)
Skill: Disable Device (+2)
Skill: Open Lock (+2)
Skill: Search (+2)
Skill: Spot (+2)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+2)
Feat: (Selected) Grandmaster of Forms

Level 19 (Rogue)
Skill: Diplomacy (+5)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Open Lock (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Spot (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)

Level 20 (Rogue)
Ability Raise: DEX
Skill: Balance (+4)
Skill: Diplomacy (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Open Lock (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Spot (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Rogue Bonus) Defensive Roll

Level 21 (Epic)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Overwhelming Critical

Level 22 (Epic)

Level 23 (Epic)

Level 24 (Epic)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Improved Sneak Attack (quick draw / moblity / Toughness / etc..)

Level 25 (Epic)

Level 26 (Epic)
Feat: (Epic Destiny) Epic Destiny: Perfect Two Handed Fighting

Level 27 (Epic)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Blinding Speed

Level 28 (Epic)
Feat: (Epic Destiny) Epic Destiny: Forced Escape

[Andoris]

Thanks for the replies. And yes, my apologies for not giving more info.

Premium Player. I have 32 point builds open. I just purchased the Shadowfall CE during the 85% off sale, so I have access to the iconic races, though honestly none of them particularly appeal to me a whole lot.

Highest level character I have ever had in the game was level 11 or 12. And that was back at least 2-3 years ago. Haven't played since then. I remember having purchased a few of the zones for quests, but honestly I don't even remember anymore which ones.

I think between all of the characters on my account right now, I probably have around 50k platinum total. When I was playing back then, it was just solo so I definitely don't have any "big time" loot that would have required a raid or anything of that sort.

I'm back playing now, just as a "dabbler." Not going to be investing tons of time into the game, certainly not looking to min-max or do anything serious in terms of endgame content. Just hop on for an hour or two here and there and have some fun poking around the big DDO world.

I hope that helps some. Thanks.

In a lot of ways the Acrobat is a fairly advanced build. Unless you are really set on Acrobat, you would likely have as easier time with a different melee (Pally being the easy choice) However, if you are just planning on playing around heroics and looking for an interesting playstyle (and really want to play an Acrobat) it can work -- however, be prepared.. it will be a rough ride.

As Grail mentioned, you are really going to want a named quarterstaff -- Arlyn's or Chieftain's would be fine at low levels (and if all you get to is level 12 it will serve you fine up until then). If your willing to do some farming, the heroic Elemental Bloom is ML:7 and will carry you all the way to level 20

The other issue your going to have is healing. At Epic levels there are a number of options but low levels are more restrictive. While you should have enough UMD to whip out Cure Critical wands between combats, you are going to want a in-combat option (beyond just cure serious pots). For what your doing, it might be worth looking at a Halfling Acrobat.

You can use the dragonmark of healing for emergency in-combat heals, extra sneak dice and saves, and halflings are cute :)

As you are mostly looking at low level heroics, pure rogue is simpler and better in a lot of ways vs the monk/rogue split. Feats will look something like this:

Base: Power Attack (1), Cleave (3), Great Cleave (6), Dragonmark of Healing (9), IC: Bludgeoning (12), Two Handed Fighting (15), Improved Two Handed Fighting (18), Overwhelming Critical (21), Greater Two Handed Fighting (24), Improved Sneak Attack? (27)

Drop 12 AP into Halfling for Greater Dragonmark; 41 AP into Acrobat, 6 AP into Harper (Know the Angles) leaving you 21 points to pick up Nimbleness in the Assassin tree.

Your likely better off with a Pally (considering your play time investment), but if you really want to run a Rogue Acrobat, the above should work.

Good Luck!

[MithrilSoul]

Hi all, once again thanks for the input. I wanted to fill you in on what I decided.

After playing around with things, despite me saying I didn't care for any of the iconic races, I decided to make a Shadar-Kai rogue. I followed basically the outline of feats you laid out in the post just above, Andoris, only substituting Toughness for the Halfling Dragonmark feet at lvl 9. Put most of my points into Acrobat tree, with some in the racial tree. I played around with it some, and in some ways liked it, but I can see what you were all saying about it being tough without some measure of self-healing. I tried running a handful of level 13 quests, did okay but I never felt terribly powerful.

Then, since I had open character slots to play with, I did another character (also Shadar-Kai pure rogue, dex-based) only with that one, focused on dual wielding daggers and using the Assassin tree (again, with some points into the Shadar-Kai racials). I found this second character easier to play and overall more satisfying. (I ran the exact same quests I had done on the acrobat so that I would have some basis for comparison.) There still isn't a huge measure of self-healing, but the fact that one of the default starter weapons you get in your level 15 gear box is a dagger with Vampirism seems to make a pretty huge difference. The other big difference was that Assassinate is extremely helpful when solo questing...to be able to 1-shot kill mobs and still remain stealthed really helps to reduce damage taken.

SO...for now I am putting the Acrobat on the back burner and am going to focus on the Assassin. But I am thankful for the input in this thread, as a lot of what was shared was helpful to me in putting together my Assassin build as well. I appreciate all the help!

[Doutrinador]

Andoris's thread (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/459818-Centered-Thief-Acrobat) if you want a monk-splashed centered build. Converting to pure rogue is pretty straight-forward. Note that the recent nerf to crit range bonuses has hit Acrobats, particularly if you use Sireth and/or Divine Crusader. According to Andoris, Tempests beat Acrobats (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/467639-regarding-stick-builds?p=5723145&viewfull=1#post5723145), though that's with lots of caveats.

FWIW, this is the build I plan to use for my next SDK ITR:

SDK Acrobat
Rogue 20
True Neutral Shadar-kai


Stats
36pt Tome Level Up
---- ---- --------
Strength 13 +5 4: DEX
Dexterity 20 +2 8: DEX
Constitution 13 +2 12: DEX
Intelligence 16 +2 16: DEX
Wisdom 8 +2 20: DEX
Charisma 6 +2 24: DEX
28: DEX

Skills
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
------------------------------------------------------------
Disable 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
Open Lo 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
Search 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
Spot 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
Bluff 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
Hide 4 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 23
Move Si 4 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 23
Tumble 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
UMD 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
Balance 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 16
Concent 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11
Heal 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11
------------------------------------------------------------
44 11 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12


Feats

1 : Power Attack
3 : Cleave
6 : Great Cleave
9 : Two Handed Fighting
10 Rogue : Defensive Roll
12 : Improved Critical: Bludgeoning
13 Rogue : Improved Evasion
15 : Improved Two Handed Fighting
16 Rogue : Opportunist
18 : Greater Two Handed Fighting
19 Rogue : Crippling Strike
21 Epic : Overwhelming Critical
24 Epic : Improved Sneak Attack
26 Destiny: Perfect Two Weapon Fighting
27 Epic : Watchful Eye
28 Destiny: Perfect Two Handed Fighting


Enhancements (80 AP)

Shadar-kai (20 AP)


Shadar-kai Grit, Dexterity

Spiked Chain Attack
Vicious Chain, Ghostly Essence III, Guile
Slashing Chain, Forceful Chain, Guile
Whirling Chain, Gloom Stalker



Thief-Acrobat (52 AP)


Staff Control, Stick Fighting, Tumbler, Kip Up, Cartwheel Charge, Followthrough

Acrobat Staff Training, Thief Acrobatics III, Fast Movement
Acrobat Staff Training, Quick Strike III, Haste Boost III
Acrobat Staff Training, Shadow Dodge III, Sweeping Strikes III
Acrobat Staff Training, Improved Defensive Roll III, No Mercy III, Staff Lunge I
Acrobat Staff Training, Staff Specialization, Spinning Staff Wall, Vault



Harper Agent (8 AP)


Agent of Good I

Harper Enchantment, Traveler's Toughness II
Know the Angles III




Destiny (24 AP)

Legendary Dreadnought


Legendary Tactics III, Extra Action Boost III
Momentum Swing III, Imp. Power Attack
Lay Waste, Critical Damage II
Lightning Mace
Advancing Blows, Devastating Critical
Master's Blitz, Pulverizer


Twists of Fate (22 fate points)


Grim Precision (Tier 3 Shadowdancer)
Sacred Ground (Tier 3 Crusader)
Consecration (Tier 2 Crusader)


SDK chain atks probably aren't worth it, but I've never tried speccing for them before, so figured I'd give a shot. :) Easy enough to change enhancements later.

EDIT: unfortunately for me, Sireth is my primary epic staff and it still doesn't work w/Pulverizer. :( So I plan to farm for Bone Crusher and/or Elemental Bloom before my ITR. Fortunately, they're BtA, so I can use any toon to acquire them, not just this one.


Hi... Power Attack is better than Precision for an Acrobat? Cleaves are really needed?
Dex or Str?


Thx

[unbongwah]

Hi... Power Attack is better than Precision for an Acrobat? Cleaves are really needed?
Dex or Str?
Power Atk is necessary to unlock Cleave which is necessary to unlock Momentum Swing which is necessary to use Lay Waste. If I had an extra feat to spare, I'd consider adding Precision; but since I don't, I'll stick with Power Atk for +10 dmg and +0.5[W] modifier in LD. I went (or rather plan to go) DEX-based to boost Sweeping Strikes DC; I've already got a +5 STR tome on this toon which enables me to meet stat pre-reqs for THF chain.

[FranOhmsford]

In a lot of ways the Acrobat is a fairly advanced build. Unless you are really set on Acrobat, you would likely have as easier time with a different melee (Pally being the easy choice) However, if you are just planning on playing around heroics and looking for an interesting playstyle (and really want to play an Acrobat) it can work -- however, be prepared.. it will be a rough ride.

As Grail mentioned, you are really going to want a named quarterstaff -- Arlyn's or Chieftain's would be fine at low levels (and if all you get to is level 12 it will serve you fine up until then). If your willing to do some farming, the heroic Elemental Bloom is ML:7 and will carry you all the way to level 20

The other issue your going to have is healing. At Epic levels there are a number of options but low levels are more restrictive. While you should have enough UMD to whip out Cure Critical wands between combats, you are going to want a in-combat option (beyond just cure serious pots). For what your doing, it might be worth looking at a Halfling Acrobat.

You can use the dragonmark of healing for emergency in-combat heals, extra sneak dice and saves, and halflings are cute :)

As you are mostly looking at low level heroics, pure rogue is simpler and better in a lot of ways vs the monk/rogue split. Feats will look something like this:

Base: Power Attack (1), Cleave (3), Great Cleave (6), Dragonmark of Healing (9), IC: Bludgeoning (12), Two Handed Fighting (15), Improved Two Handed Fighting (18), Overwhelming Critical (21), Greater Two Handed Fighting (24), Improved Sneak Attack? (27)

Drop 12 AP into Halfling for Greater Dragonmark; 41 AP into Acrobat, 6 AP into Harper (Know the Angles) leaving you 21 points to pick up Nimbleness in the Assassin tree.

Your likely better off with a Pally (considering your play time investment), but if you really want to run a Rogue Acrobat, the above should work.

Good Luck!

Considering the OP has never been past Lvl 12 and has just come back from a long time off I'd suggest putting at least 10 points into Mechanic for the Trap Skills and Skill Boost - Acrobats are Dex {or Str if you prefer that route} Based Rogues and therefore have a much harder time than Mechs or Assassins getting their Search/Disable up.