16 fighter/4 rogue or 18/2? - qstaff build

[Thrudh]

I want at least 16 fighter for max tactics, and at least 2 rogue for the qstaff enhancements.

18 fighter would give me the One Cut ability (Your currently equipped primary weapon gains x1 Critical Damage Multiplier for 15 secs.(Cooldown: 1 minute) Passive: +20 Melee Power and Ranged Power.)

but two extra levels of Rogue would give the No Mercy enhancement (30% to stunned opponents), which is pretty big DPS bonus on a tactics build who will have stunning blow, Dire Charge, and Overwhelming Force when in the Fury ED.

Plus 2 extra levels of rogue would help a lot with skills.

OR...

maybe a 16/2/2 fighter/rogue/something else?

2 barb might be nice... Another +7 STR, movement speed and sprint boost, maybe Ear Smash (another stunning option).

Or maybe 2 levels of warlock?

I'm guessing there must be 2 levels of something that is better than 20 melee power and +1 crit multiplier for 15 seconds (with 1 minute cooldown)

Any thoughts?

[Grailhawk]

I'm guessing there must be 2 levels of something that is better than 20 melee power and +1 crit multiplier for 15 seconds (with 1 minute cooldown)

Any thoughts?

I doubt it.

30% helpless damage does add more damage against helpless stuff but I would take the .25 crit multiplier and 20 melee power over that myself, you do enough damage against helpless things already IMO.

[BigErkyKid]

I doubt it.

30% helpless damage does add more damage against helpless stuff but I would take the .25 crit multiplier and 20 melee power over that myself, you do enough damage against helpless things already IMO.

This. I would also not use a staff build. The fighting animation is the worst for THF, named staves are not in a good place ATM with the DRs we have and what not.

Recently I have even given up on sense weakness when soloing. Stuff dies fast enough anyway and I'd rather twist something that helps when you cannot have tactics going.

If you truly want a staff build, maybe 12 rogue, 6 fighter, 2 paladin bladeforged. Pick kensei tier 5 over rogue IMHO. Double dipping in extra boni to staff damage could be pretty good (?). 32 ap kensei, ~20 TA, ~13 stalwart, ~11 blade forged.

I think this build beats 18/+ rogue builds nowadays, everything considered.

[Thrudh]

This. I would also not use a staff build. The fighting animation is the worst for THF, named staves are not in a good place ATM with the DRs we have and what not.

Recently I have even given up on sense weakness when soloing. Stuff dies fast enough anyway and I'd rather twist something that helps when you cannot have tactics going.

I always have tactics going... :)

16 fighter for max tactics, and 2 rogue for q-staff are my criteria.

This guy (currently 16/4) deals a TON of DPS, but his defenses and self-healing are pretty weak.

Maybe 1-2 levels of warlock for some PRR and MRR, and some spell points (Useful for twisting in Consecrated Ground)

[Enderoc]

Can't you get another crit multiplier with 5 rogue though?

[Grailhawk]

Can't you get another crit multiplier with 5 rogue though?

Strike with no Thought and Staff Specialization should both be competence bonuses and shouldn't stack. If that's not the case its a bug and the dev's will fix it.

[Thrudh]

Can't you get another crit multiplier with 5 rogue though?

They don't stack.

[unbongwah]

Strike with no Thought and Staff Specialization should both be competence bonuses and shouldn't stack. If that's not the case its a bug and the dev's will fix it.
When U31 first came out, SwNT was an Insight bonus, but it's already been bugfixed in the first patch. So you could've had a staff build with a +2 crit multiplier for nine whole days, but you've missed that window of opportunity. ;)

[BigErkyKid]

I always have tactics going... :)

16 fighter for max tactics, and 2 rogue for q-staff are my criteria.

This guy (currently 16/4) deals a TON of DPS, but his defenses and self-healing are pretty weak.

Maybe 1-2 levels of warlock for some PRR and MRR, and some spell points (Useful for twisting in Consecrated Ground)

I think it is a bad split :P

First, because on a fighter there aren't so many tactics:

Stunning blow
Dire charge
Trip
Lay waste

You can reach very high DCs on dire charge without tactics boni (just with gear), as many people have shown in their signature builds. Imagine how much easier it is even with 6-8-12 fighter. Stunning blow and trip are OK but given the long cool down and being single target they are not worth a massive amount of effort (completely superseded by dire charge, which is shorter cool down and AoE). Finally lay waste only uses STR, not tactics.

Second, because the stopping points for fighter are 6-12-18-20. If you want power surge, grab 12, but 16 for only tactics feats (which again you don't need) is a bad stopping point. Fighter right now is mostly about grabbing the +damage line from kensei, the defensive stance, and the MP in the tree. The majority of the DPS the tree offers (around 2/3?) can be attained with only 6 levels of fighter, and only if you want tactics I would consider 8-12.


This is why I suggested 12 rogue, 6 fighter, 2 paladin blade forged. That build has better saves (2 paladin), knockdown immunity, sneak attack, stacking +damage (12 rogue), not much loss in damage from kensei (6 fighter). On top add the easy button self healing. I think objectively it is a better build than 16/2.

As usual, it all comes down to preference. This for me is though the objective assessment.

[BigErkyKid]

PS - If you want SP, use 2 FVS instead of 2 paladin.

[Thrudh]

I think it is a bad split :P

First, because on a fighter there aren't so many tactics:

Stunning blow
Dire charge
Trip
Lay waste

You can reach very high DCs on dire charge without tactics boni (just with gear), as many people have shown in their signature builds. Imagine how much easier it is even with 6-8-12 fighter. Stunning blow and trip are OK but given the long cool down and being single target they are not worth a massive amount of effort (completely superseded by dire charge, which is shorter cool down and AoE). Finally lay waste only uses STR, not tactics.


You make good points, but I disagree that stunning blow and trip are not worth it. And I want to be able to land my tactics in the highest level content.

Also, dire charge is only available for one level... from 29-30... This guy will be spending 90% of his time between levels 20-28.


Second, because the stopping points for fighter are 6-12-18-20. If you want power surge, grab 12, but 16 for only tactics feats (which again you don't need) is a bad stopping point. Fighter right now is mostly about grabbing the +damage line from kensei, the defensive stance, and the MP in the tree. The majority of the DPS the tree offers (around 2/3?) can be attained with only 6 levels of fighter, and only if you want tactics I would consider 8-12.


This is why I suggested 12 rogue, 6 fighter, 2 paladin blade forged. That build has better saves (2 paladin), knockdown immunity, sneak attack, stacking +damage (12 rogue), not much loss in damage from kensei (6 fighter). On top add the easy button self healing. I think objectively it is a better build than 16/2.

As usual, it all comes down to preference. This for me is though the objective assessment.

I could consider stopping at level 12 fighter (I do indeed want Power Surge, and at least some of the tactical bonuses). Perhaps I should swap out the level 16 tactical bonus feat, and see how this guy performs through one epic TR without it.