EvilGremlin
07-03-2016, 04:29 PM
INTRO
Hello. I am a noob. Well, I played DDO 6 years ago.... And I have been playing MMOs since UO... but yes, I am a noob to this game (this version of this game). More importantly, I have the reflexes of a cat... a dead cat. (So if this build can easily take on hard mode in my hands, imagine what it could do in yours.)
I am a big deep gnome fan. They are one of my favorite races in DnD. So I was instantly drawn to the deep gnome in DDO. But if you have tried the deep gnome default setting you know very well that it is ineffective. After a couple of weeks and somewhere between 30-40 builds (at level 15) I have come up with a build that is easy to play and--most shocking of all--effective for taking on hard content solo with starting gear, no followers, not much skill and no past lives.
Honestly, at level 15 almost every other class is going to perform better. But if there is a first-life wizard easier to use and faster at killing effectively right out of the box, it isn't found on these forums or any other place I have tried from youtube to reddit.
This is not meant for end game. I don't have any idea how it would work there. Last I played level 15 was end game... This is just a starting template designed to help you level up a wizard easily. When you get to level 20 or some point beyond you might want to respec. If you are an expert at DDO and/or you have a bunch of past lives or special unlocked stuff, this is probably not for you.
There is one major caveat, it relies on Strategic Combat from the Harper tree. Strategic combat allows you to use your intelligence for attack and damage. With this, putting just 12 points into harper agent is more valuable to a melee wizard than buying every enhancement in the eldritch knight tree. Between this and the gnomish weapon training line, you will have a melee attack comparable to any melee.
The key feature of this build is this. By stacking just one stat you will gain increased spell damage, increased healing, increased spell DC, increased spell points, increased melee and ranged attack, increased melee and ranged damage, increased skill points and increased reflex saves. Combined with the natural spell resistances and bonus saves of a deep gnome, the pale master's self-healing spells and the vampire form's ability to self heal with improved shrouding, you will be almost invincible.
(Since we are on the subject, I also recommend picking up a + whatever intelligence tome if you can. For this build it is almost like having a bonus to every attribute. But it isn't needed.)
PLAYSTYLE
There are a few ways to play this build. I tend to rely a lot on my death aura, fire shield and melee buffs. This prevents me from running out of SP. When I am assaulted by groups of mobs I use AOE spells to quickly destroy them. Short missions tend to be very short. On longer quests I tend to only use my auras, fire shield and melee buffs. Against red names I tank. Yes, tank. If you are careful/lucky/a better player than me, you can tank hard mode red names five CRs higher. I have done it a few times and I'm not that good. But there is nothing more satisfying than solo face-tanking an owlbear on a gnome... wizard... in HM... :D
BUILD
Wizard 15
True Neutral Deep Gnome
Stats
. . . . . . . .28pt . . Level Up
. . . . . . . .---- . . --------
Strength. . . . .6. . . .4: INT
Dexterity . . . 14. . . .8: INT
Constitution. . 14. . . 12: INT
Intelligence. . 20
Wisdom. . . . . 10
Charisma. . . . .6. . .
If you are brand new you'll be using a 28 point build. This setup means low carrying capacity (get the Bull's Strength spell) and single weapon fighting. Single-weapon fighting offers a high attack bonus and the capability to wield an orb in your off hand for additional spell points. Orbs can be hard to find. I picked one up of the auction house. (See FranOhmsford's post below for where to find them.)
If you are using a 32 point or higher build, you may benefit more from two-weapon fighting. More attacks means more hits and more healing through Vampire Form. I have tried both and prefer this setup. Though it is less effective against high AC opponents, you can easily use spells to deal with them.
Skills
<snipped for space>
Balance (7)
Heal
Tumble
Spellcraft
The main thing here is getting your Balance up enough for the improved single weapon fighting feat (see below). Seven points will even get you greater single weapon fighting but I don't think it is worth getting unless you are going to splash fighter (do that later). The BAB requirement is too high and a pure wiz is short on open melee feat slots. Your DPS comes from spells.
Tumble is here because the deep gnome racial enhancement Illusory Escape lets you become ethereal every single time you tumble. That means you can pass through enemies to escape. It has saved my bacon a couple of times when I couldn't cast spells for whatever reason. I consider this a must have for a deep gnome.
Spell damage is increased by Spellcraft. Healing (including negative energy healing) is increased by the Heal skill. You will want these.
If you take all of these skills you will still have a lot of skill points left over for whatever you like.
Optional skills: Concentration is optional (but recommended) because you will be running quicken spell which means you don't need to make a concentration test to cast spells when they would otherwise be interrupted. Performance could also be useful as it increases sonic spell damage. Search or Repair are good skills that will be useful to your group in certain circumstances. This is one of the rare cases where Use Magic Device is actually optional. You don't need it to heal, CC or damage with this build. But you have so many available skill points on this build, almost everything is a viable choice.
Feats
.1. . . . : Insightful Reflexes
.1 Wizard : Quicken Spell
.3. . . . : Precision
.5 Wizard : Extend Spell
.6. . . . : Mental Toughness (Optional)
.9. . . . : Improved Mental Toughness (Optional)
10 Wizard : Empower Spell
12. . . . : Single Weapon Fighting
15. . . . : Improved Single Weapon Fighting
15 Wizard : Maximize Spell
Insightful reflexes is an incredible feat for this build. You have already consolidated all of your healing, damage and attack into one stat. Now you can add a save to it. It is the icing on the cake of a race with incredible natural defenses.
You need Quicken, Extend and Maximize Spell for this build. Heighten spell isn't important because you aren't a DC caster. Empower spell isn't crucial. Most of the time I run without maximize or empower on because I don't need them. For harder content empower and maximize are both very useful. At level 15, with nothing but starter gear and this build I have killed bosses in their 20s.
Mental Toughness is not a good feat. At least, that is what the experts will tell you. And they are probably right... once you get to be a higher level. But for this build it is very useful as this is not the goal you are trying to achieve. This build is the starting point from which you achieve your end build. So pick up mental toughness and improved mental toughness because they are useful for now. At some point you won't need that extra SP but a lesser reincarnation seed is cheap and you get one for free anyway. That said, these two feats are the most expendable ones on the build. They are simply here to help with difficult content where you run out of SP more often.
Single Weapon Fighting is a good choice. As I stated before, if you can swing the 32 point build (optional) you can go with two weapon fighting. To my mind the main advantage of two weapon fighting is that you hit more often to heal more often. (As a side note, feats like improved critical that increase damage are not critical to the build . You heal a set amount based on number of attacks. Anything that increases your number of attacks is preferable.)
Spells
Hypnotism, Tumble, Obscuring Mist, Master's Touch, <Any>
Invisibility, Lesser Death Aura, <Any>, <Any>
Displacement, Haste, Fireball, Stinking Cloud, <Any>
Negative Energy Burst, Death Aura, Acid Rain, Fire Shield, <Any>
Mind Fog, Ball Lightning, Cloudkill, Tenser's Transformation, <Any>
Acid Fog, Otiluke's Freezing Sphere, Circle of Death, <Any>
Otto's Sphere of Dancing, Prismatic Spray, <Any>
Incendiary Cloud, Summon Monster VIII
Like other pale master builds your main goal is to self-heal while you damage. In vampire form you get healing from your melee attacks and certain spells.
Master's Touch is important because it will give you weapon proficiency with short swords. You can also use the Martial Training enhancement from the eldritch knight line but it isn't a must have when you can just pop this spell.
Lesser Death Aura stacks with Death Aura. I try to keep lesser death aura up all the time. At about 80% HP I pop death aura. Most trash mobs are dead quickly with just these up. On hard difficulty I keep both up.
Negative Energy Burst is also a burst heal. It is your main healing ability. With empower and maximize on I get back about 2/3 of my health bar per cast. On harder difficulty bosses I use this fairly often. On even or close to even level bosses I will cast it maybe once or twice, if at all.
Fire Shield is actually a very useful spell for this build. You are going to be in melee range most of the time. Between death auras, fire shield, negative energy bursts and eldritch strike things don't last long. But this spell is also very useful on enemies that are healed by death magic.
As are other spells like Incendiary Cloud, Acid Rain and Ball Lightning. Make sure you have something to back you up. It doesn't exactly matter what spells you choose, but you need some.
Haste. This is a no-brainer. The faster you attack the more you hit, the more you hit the more you heal. Anything that increases your ability to hit more frequently will heal you more. With haste up and both death auras running, no regular mob less than a few levels above you can kill you (unless you do something wrong).
Displacement and other spells that boost your defense are a must for melee bosses and harder content. The benefits are obvious.
Obscuring Mist and other fog spells are pretty convenient. Against a lot of enemies I will throw down Stinking Cloud and as many area of effect damage over time spells as I can. But the trick to remember here is not to do that when in a group. And the other trick (lol) is to remember that your fire spells will actually burn away some fog spells.
Hypnotism is an oh **** button. In theory anyway. If you ever get overwhelmed and can't deal with groups of weaker mobs it can be useful. I have never been in a position to use it because everything dies too fast. Again, don't use it in a group.
[B]Tumble is on here because it is useful for the deep gnome with his/her ability to phase out of reality while tumbling. You won't be able to cast it until you get the materials, but it is a good one to know for when you do.
Tenser's Transformation and Heroism spells are useful for increasing your melee combat ability. I tend to only use Tensers on red names. Your attack bonus is pretty high with this build as is. Where I think you will start to feel the lack of BAB on regular mobs is post 20. For now though, you should be good as long as you stick with gnomish weapons.
Enhancements (60 of 60 AP)
Please note that there are no extra AP available. The only place you can pull anything from is the Deep Gnome line. But the extra attack and damage from Gnomish Weapon Training is quite valuable because as a mage you have a lesser BAB. The only other option for increasing your attack is to increase your intelligence.
Deep Gnome (15 AP)
Wariness, Intelligence
Illusory Escape, Gnomish Weapon Training
Color Spray III, Permanent Blur, Gnomish Weapon Training
Stoneskin III, Gnomish Weapon Training
Deep Gnome enhancements are fairly straight forward. Keep stoneskin up. Color spray for CC. PK for weak mobs at range. Weapon training is a must for a melee gnome. There is still one more weapon training enhancement you should snag when you have 2 AP free. Permanent blur and illusory escape are great for avoiding damage.
Pale Master (32 AP)
Dark Reaping, Zombie Form, Vampire Form, Wraith Form
Deathless Vigor I, Spell Critical, Negative Energy Conduit III
Efficient Quicken III, Spell Critical, Bone Armor III
Spell Critical, Intelligence
Spell Critical, Intelligence
Improved Shrouding
These are the basic enhancements you will want. Vampire form is a must. Improved shrouding is what gives you your healing when you attack.
Harper Agent (12 AP)
Agent of Good I, Intelligence
Harper Enchantment, Strategic Combat
Magical Endurance III
Strategic Combat
The two that matter here are the strategic combat enhancements. The first will let you use INT to attack and the second to damage. These are a must.
Eldritch Knight (Wizard) (1 AP)
Eldritch Strike
Eldritch strike is very useful for this build. It is an aoe attack. When you are piling up mobs, it is just that much more damage/healing. I also like to use Martial Training and Spellsword but they are not a must have for this build. Do not invest heavily into the EK line it is not worth it.
FINAL NOTES
Again, this is a starting point. It is not an end-game build. It is not for experienced players. I am not an expert on DDO. I welcome feedback of course. I don't have an end game build as it would be a disservice to anybody reading this. Do not try to be a melee wizard at end game. This should be good until mid 20s.
STRENGTHS
High durability against large groups of mobs.
Efficient use of SP.
Capable of beating down mobs it can't blast down.
Burst DPS + Burst heal.
Use of a single stat to maximize melee, spellcasting and healing.
Kills large groups quickly.
High rate of innate damage avoidance.
Constant self-regeneration through auras and melee attacks.
Face-tanks HM red names.
Has a lot of versatility.
WEAKNESSES
Still a wizard. Has low AC, HP and SP.
Not a high DC caster.
Not an end-game build.
Does not play well with others.
Susceptible to dispell.
Susceptible to positive energy damage.
A lot of work to play in HM.
Still runs out of SP on longer duration missions.
(The only cure for that seems to be to play a warlock.)
Another easy mode deep gnome would be to simply pick up a +1 lesser reincarnation seed an go pure tempest. LOL ;p
Thanks for the helpful comments Certon, Enoach and FranOhmsford.
Hello. I am a noob. Well, I played DDO 6 years ago.... And I have been playing MMOs since UO... but yes, I am a noob to this game (this version of this game). More importantly, I have the reflexes of a cat... a dead cat. (So if this build can easily take on hard mode in my hands, imagine what it could do in yours.)
I am a big deep gnome fan. They are one of my favorite races in DnD. So I was instantly drawn to the deep gnome in DDO. But if you have tried the deep gnome default setting you know very well that it is ineffective. After a couple of weeks and somewhere between 30-40 builds (at level 15) I have come up with a build that is easy to play and--most shocking of all--effective for taking on hard content solo with starting gear, no followers, not much skill and no past lives.
Honestly, at level 15 almost every other class is going to perform better. But if there is a first-life wizard easier to use and faster at killing effectively right out of the box, it isn't found on these forums or any other place I have tried from youtube to reddit.
This is not meant for end game. I don't have any idea how it would work there. Last I played level 15 was end game... This is just a starting template designed to help you level up a wizard easily. When you get to level 20 or some point beyond you might want to respec. If you are an expert at DDO and/or you have a bunch of past lives or special unlocked stuff, this is probably not for you.
There is one major caveat, it relies on Strategic Combat from the Harper tree. Strategic combat allows you to use your intelligence for attack and damage. With this, putting just 12 points into harper agent is more valuable to a melee wizard than buying every enhancement in the eldritch knight tree. Between this and the gnomish weapon training line, you will have a melee attack comparable to any melee.
The key feature of this build is this. By stacking just one stat you will gain increased spell damage, increased healing, increased spell DC, increased spell points, increased melee and ranged attack, increased melee and ranged damage, increased skill points and increased reflex saves. Combined with the natural spell resistances and bonus saves of a deep gnome, the pale master's self-healing spells and the vampire form's ability to self heal with improved shrouding, you will be almost invincible.
(Since we are on the subject, I also recommend picking up a + whatever intelligence tome if you can. For this build it is almost like having a bonus to every attribute. But it isn't needed.)
PLAYSTYLE
There are a few ways to play this build. I tend to rely a lot on my death aura, fire shield and melee buffs. This prevents me from running out of SP. When I am assaulted by groups of mobs I use AOE spells to quickly destroy them. Short missions tend to be very short. On longer quests I tend to only use my auras, fire shield and melee buffs. Against red names I tank. Yes, tank. If you are careful/lucky/a better player than me, you can tank hard mode red names five CRs higher. I have done it a few times and I'm not that good. But there is nothing more satisfying than solo face-tanking an owlbear on a gnome... wizard... in HM... :D
BUILD
Wizard 15
True Neutral Deep Gnome
Stats
. . . . . . . .28pt . . Level Up
. . . . . . . .---- . . --------
Strength. . . . .6. . . .4: INT
Dexterity . . . 14. . . .8: INT
Constitution. . 14. . . 12: INT
Intelligence. . 20
Wisdom. . . . . 10
Charisma. . . . .6. . .
If you are brand new you'll be using a 28 point build. This setup means low carrying capacity (get the Bull's Strength spell) and single weapon fighting. Single-weapon fighting offers a high attack bonus and the capability to wield an orb in your off hand for additional spell points. Orbs can be hard to find. I picked one up of the auction house. (See FranOhmsford's post below for where to find them.)
If you are using a 32 point or higher build, you may benefit more from two-weapon fighting. More attacks means more hits and more healing through Vampire Form. I have tried both and prefer this setup. Though it is less effective against high AC opponents, you can easily use spells to deal with them.
Skills
<snipped for space>
Balance (7)
Heal
Tumble
Spellcraft
The main thing here is getting your Balance up enough for the improved single weapon fighting feat (see below). Seven points will even get you greater single weapon fighting but I don't think it is worth getting unless you are going to splash fighter (do that later). The BAB requirement is too high and a pure wiz is short on open melee feat slots. Your DPS comes from spells.
Tumble is here because the deep gnome racial enhancement Illusory Escape lets you become ethereal every single time you tumble. That means you can pass through enemies to escape. It has saved my bacon a couple of times when I couldn't cast spells for whatever reason. I consider this a must have for a deep gnome.
Spell damage is increased by Spellcraft. Healing (including negative energy healing) is increased by the Heal skill. You will want these.
If you take all of these skills you will still have a lot of skill points left over for whatever you like.
Optional skills: Concentration is optional (but recommended) because you will be running quicken spell which means you don't need to make a concentration test to cast spells when they would otherwise be interrupted. Performance could also be useful as it increases sonic spell damage. Search or Repair are good skills that will be useful to your group in certain circumstances. This is one of the rare cases where Use Magic Device is actually optional. You don't need it to heal, CC or damage with this build. But you have so many available skill points on this build, almost everything is a viable choice.
Feats
.1. . . . : Insightful Reflexes
.1 Wizard : Quicken Spell
.3. . . . : Precision
.5 Wizard : Extend Spell
.6. . . . : Mental Toughness (Optional)
.9. . . . : Improved Mental Toughness (Optional)
10 Wizard : Empower Spell
12. . . . : Single Weapon Fighting
15. . . . : Improved Single Weapon Fighting
15 Wizard : Maximize Spell
Insightful reflexes is an incredible feat for this build. You have already consolidated all of your healing, damage and attack into one stat. Now you can add a save to it. It is the icing on the cake of a race with incredible natural defenses.
You need Quicken, Extend and Maximize Spell for this build. Heighten spell isn't important because you aren't a DC caster. Empower spell isn't crucial. Most of the time I run without maximize or empower on because I don't need them. For harder content empower and maximize are both very useful. At level 15, with nothing but starter gear and this build I have killed bosses in their 20s.
Mental Toughness is not a good feat. At least, that is what the experts will tell you. And they are probably right... once you get to be a higher level. But for this build it is very useful as this is not the goal you are trying to achieve. This build is the starting point from which you achieve your end build. So pick up mental toughness and improved mental toughness because they are useful for now. At some point you won't need that extra SP but a lesser reincarnation seed is cheap and you get one for free anyway. That said, these two feats are the most expendable ones on the build. They are simply here to help with difficult content where you run out of SP more often.
Single Weapon Fighting is a good choice. As I stated before, if you can swing the 32 point build (optional) you can go with two weapon fighting. To my mind the main advantage of two weapon fighting is that you hit more often to heal more often. (As a side note, feats like improved critical that increase damage are not critical to the build . You heal a set amount based on number of attacks. Anything that increases your number of attacks is preferable.)
Spells
Hypnotism, Tumble, Obscuring Mist, Master's Touch, <Any>
Invisibility, Lesser Death Aura, <Any>, <Any>
Displacement, Haste, Fireball, Stinking Cloud, <Any>
Negative Energy Burst, Death Aura, Acid Rain, Fire Shield, <Any>
Mind Fog, Ball Lightning, Cloudkill, Tenser's Transformation, <Any>
Acid Fog, Otiluke's Freezing Sphere, Circle of Death, <Any>
Otto's Sphere of Dancing, Prismatic Spray, <Any>
Incendiary Cloud, Summon Monster VIII
Like other pale master builds your main goal is to self-heal while you damage. In vampire form you get healing from your melee attacks and certain spells.
Master's Touch is important because it will give you weapon proficiency with short swords. You can also use the Martial Training enhancement from the eldritch knight line but it isn't a must have when you can just pop this spell.
Lesser Death Aura stacks with Death Aura. I try to keep lesser death aura up all the time. At about 80% HP I pop death aura. Most trash mobs are dead quickly with just these up. On hard difficulty I keep both up.
Negative Energy Burst is also a burst heal. It is your main healing ability. With empower and maximize on I get back about 2/3 of my health bar per cast. On harder difficulty bosses I use this fairly often. On even or close to even level bosses I will cast it maybe once or twice, if at all.
Fire Shield is actually a very useful spell for this build. You are going to be in melee range most of the time. Between death auras, fire shield, negative energy bursts and eldritch strike things don't last long. But this spell is also very useful on enemies that are healed by death magic.
As are other spells like Incendiary Cloud, Acid Rain and Ball Lightning. Make sure you have something to back you up. It doesn't exactly matter what spells you choose, but you need some.
Haste. This is a no-brainer. The faster you attack the more you hit, the more you hit the more you heal. Anything that increases your ability to hit more frequently will heal you more. With haste up and both death auras running, no regular mob less than a few levels above you can kill you (unless you do something wrong).
Displacement and other spells that boost your defense are a must for melee bosses and harder content. The benefits are obvious.
Obscuring Mist and other fog spells are pretty convenient. Against a lot of enemies I will throw down Stinking Cloud and as many area of effect damage over time spells as I can. But the trick to remember here is not to do that when in a group. And the other trick (lol) is to remember that your fire spells will actually burn away some fog spells.
Hypnotism is an oh **** button. In theory anyway. If you ever get overwhelmed and can't deal with groups of weaker mobs it can be useful. I have never been in a position to use it because everything dies too fast. Again, don't use it in a group.
[B]Tumble is on here because it is useful for the deep gnome with his/her ability to phase out of reality while tumbling. You won't be able to cast it until you get the materials, but it is a good one to know for when you do.
Tenser's Transformation and Heroism spells are useful for increasing your melee combat ability. I tend to only use Tensers on red names. Your attack bonus is pretty high with this build as is. Where I think you will start to feel the lack of BAB on regular mobs is post 20. For now though, you should be good as long as you stick with gnomish weapons.
Enhancements (60 of 60 AP)
Please note that there are no extra AP available. The only place you can pull anything from is the Deep Gnome line. But the extra attack and damage from Gnomish Weapon Training is quite valuable because as a mage you have a lesser BAB. The only other option for increasing your attack is to increase your intelligence.
Deep Gnome (15 AP)
Wariness, Intelligence
Illusory Escape, Gnomish Weapon Training
Color Spray III, Permanent Blur, Gnomish Weapon Training
Stoneskin III, Gnomish Weapon Training
Deep Gnome enhancements are fairly straight forward. Keep stoneskin up. Color spray for CC. PK for weak mobs at range. Weapon training is a must for a melee gnome. There is still one more weapon training enhancement you should snag when you have 2 AP free. Permanent blur and illusory escape are great for avoiding damage.
Pale Master (32 AP)
Dark Reaping, Zombie Form, Vampire Form, Wraith Form
Deathless Vigor I, Spell Critical, Negative Energy Conduit III
Efficient Quicken III, Spell Critical, Bone Armor III
Spell Critical, Intelligence
Spell Critical, Intelligence
Improved Shrouding
These are the basic enhancements you will want. Vampire form is a must. Improved shrouding is what gives you your healing when you attack.
Harper Agent (12 AP)
Agent of Good I, Intelligence
Harper Enchantment, Strategic Combat
Magical Endurance III
Strategic Combat
The two that matter here are the strategic combat enhancements. The first will let you use INT to attack and the second to damage. These are a must.
Eldritch Knight (Wizard) (1 AP)
Eldritch Strike
Eldritch strike is very useful for this build. It is an aoe attack. When you are piling up mobs, it is just that much more damage/healing. I also like to use Martial Training and Spellsword but they are not a must have for this build. Do not invest heavily into the EK line it is not worth it.
FINAL NOTES
Again, this is a starting point. It is not an end-game build. It is not for experienced players. I am not an expert on DDO. I welcome feedback of course. I don't have an end game build as it would be a disservice to anybody reading this. Do not try to be a melee wizard at end game. This should be good until mid 20s.
STRENGTHS
High durability against large groups of mobs.
Efficient use of SP.
Capable of beating down mobs it can't blast down.
Burst DPS + Burst heal.
Use of a single stat to maximize melee, spellcasting and healing.
Kills large groups quickly.
High rate of innate damage avoidance.
Constant self-regeneration through auras and melee attacks.
Face-tanks HM red names.
Has a lot of versatility.
WEAKNESSES
Still a wizard. Has low AC, HP and SP.
Not a high DC caster.
Not an end-game build.
Does not play well with others.
Susceptible to dispell.
Susceptible to positive energy damage.
A lot of work to play in HM.
Still runs out of SP on longer duration missions.
(The only cure for that seems to be to play a warlock.)
Another easy mode deep gnome would be to simply pick up a +1 lesser reincarnation seed an go pure tempest. LOL ;p
Thanks for the helpful comments Certon, Enoach and FranOhmsford.