Naked Iconic Build ~ Test/Challenge

[Bjond]

The challenge part of this post is "can you solo Elite Disciples of Shar (https://ddowiki.com/page/Disciples_of_Shar) with a brand new baby Iconic, no extra gear?" If so, what build? How'd you deal with the boss pack? What do you win? Well, just my admiration, I'm afraid. I, OTH, will hopefully win a bit of DDO education. :)

--

Where is this coming from? I've been using Iconics and that quest to test various things: trials for disposable farmers, general gameplay (I'm new), and the effect of various gear/stat changes. One thing really surprised me was the difficulty of soloing this quest on Elite with a new Iconic. My fresh L1~5 newbie breezed through elites and typical D&D 3.5e is usually punishing pre-9~12. My first tests essentially blew half their SP/resources just clearing the first pack.

So, I'm curious if this is a good example of Solo Elite play or if it's harder (or easier) than usual. It has 3 aspects that I'd deem difficult: packs of archers with a champ cleric (https://ddowiki.com/page/Disciple_of_Shar) (this quest's version of "yard trash"), two packs of 3x champ lions (https://ddowiki.com/page/Mountain_Lion) (scripted wakeup), and the boss fight with a scripted wakeup -- pack of archers & melee, one champ cleric, & one boss cleric (https://ddowiki.com/page/Dedryk_Black).

I've had moderate success with two builds; both can kill all but the final battle. One is a brute-force tanky warlock and the other (more fun) is a VKF/Bard/Rogue/Barbarian. BTW, the SLAs for the morninglord aren't affected by ASF, but he can't cast a single spell with armor on (hence the lack of Evard's, plus it needs TS to find the lion cave).

The third one (not posted here) was almost as nice as these, but couldn't down the 3x Lions: Shadar-Kai VKF Warlock/Rogue (Fey to daze-lock the champs while dealing with archers). Shining & Vampiric dagger to heal works great, just not enough AC to handle 2x lions KD tag-teaming him.


Z15-ML-Reeker
12/2/1 Warlock/Favored Soul/Cleric
Chaotic Neutral Morninglord

1. Cleric 6. Warlock 11. Warlock
2. Warlock 7. Favored Soul 12. Warlock
3. Warlock 8. Warlock 13. Warlock
4. Favored Soul 9. Warlock 14. Warlock
5. Warlock 10. Warlock 15. Warlock

Stats 32pt Level Up
---- --------
Strength 9 4: CON
Dexterity 12 8: CON
Constitution 15 12: CON
Intelligence 12
Wisdom 10
Charisma 16

Skills C W W F W W F W W W W W W W W
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
---------------------------------------------
Spellcr 4 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 18
UMD 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 18
Heal 4 3 3 10
Jump 2 1 1 4
Tumble 1 1
---------------------------------------------
12 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

1 : Quicken Spell
1 Deity : Follower of: Amaunator
2 Warlock: Pact: Fiend
3 : Maximize Spell
6 : Extend Spell
7 FavSoul: Grace of Battle
9 : Empower Spell
12 : Enlarge Spell
15 : Mental Toughness

Warlock
1. Detect Secret Doors (2), Jump (3), Command (3)
2. Blur (6), Protection from Energy (11), Rage (8)
3. Dimension Door (10), Haste (14), Fire Shield (12)
4. True Seeing (13)
Favored Soul
1. Obscuring Mist (4), Nimbus of Light (4), Nightshield (7)
Cleric
1. Cure Light Wounds (1), Remove Fear (1), Bless (1)

Enhancements (56+1 of 60+1 AP)

Enlightened Spirit (37 AP)
• Eldritch Aura, Aura of Courage, Shape Vestments, Aura of Menace
1. Spiritual Defense III, Resilience of Soul I
2. Resist Energies I, Spiritual Bastion III, Power of Enlightenment III, Shield
3. Eldritch Burst III, Spiritual Ward III, Power of Enlightenment III
4. Spiritual Retribution III, Brilliance
5. Spirit Blast III, Shining Through, Displacement

Soul Eater (8 AP)
• Inhuman Understanding
1. Consume, Taint the Blood, Hungry for Destruction I
2. Stricken III

Tainted Scholar (7 AP)
• Tainted Spellcasting
1. Planar Power I, Feigned Health III
2. Utterdark Blast

Angel of Vengeance (4 AP)
• Font of Power
1. Scourge III

Morninglord (1 AP)
• Elven Accuracy


This one is MUCH more fun to play, mostly because it has more options for dealing with things than wade in and light yourself on fire. The single target DPS is crazy, but it REQUIRES the Shadar-Kai starter Reward (https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Reward) dagger for it's vampiric healing effect. So, I don't think this build could ever fly as anything other than a niche L15 farmer.


Z15-VKF-Bardsmash
11/2/2 Bard/Barbarian/Rogue
Chaotic Neutral Shadar-kai

1. Rogue 6. Barbarian 11. Bard
2. Bard 7. Bard 12. Bard
3. Bard 8. Bard 13. Bard
4. Bard 9. Bard 14. Bard
5. Bard 10. Barbarian 15. Rogue


Stats 32pt Level Up
---- --------
Strength 8 4: DEX
Dexterity 18 8: DEX
Constitution 14 12: DEX
Intelligence 14
Wisdom 8
Charisma 14

Skills Rg Bd Bd Bd Bd Bn Bd Bd Bd Bn Bd Bd Bd Bd Rg
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
---------------------------------------------
Perform 2 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 18
Search 4 ½ 1½ 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 18
Hide 4 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 18
Move Si 4 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 18
UMD 4 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 18
Disable 4 ½ ½ 2 1 2 1 1 4 16
Balance 4 1 1 1 7
Jump 4 1 5
Swim 4 4
Haggle 3 3
Tumble 1 1
---------------------------------------------
40 8 8 8 8 6 8 8 8 6 8 8 8 8 10

1 : Single Weapon Fighting
3 : Extend Spell
6 : Weapon Finesse
9 : Improved Single Weapon Fighting
12 : Improved Critical: Piercing
15 : Greater Single Weapon Fighting

Bard
1. Cure Light Wounds (2), Focusing Chant (3), Merfolk's Blessing (4), Detect Secret Doors (7)
2. Blur (5), Cure Moderate Wounds (5), Glitterdust (7), Invisibility (9)
3. Cure Serious Wounds (9), Displacement (9), Good Hope (11), Haste (13)
4. Dimension Door (13), Freedom of Movement (13), Summon Monster IV (14)

Enhancements (56+1 of 60+1 AP)

Vistani Knife Fighter (24 AP)
• Knife Expertise, Knife Juggler, Knife Specialist
1. Vistani Knife Training, Undead Hunter, Mist Stalker, Rapid Attack
2. Vistani Knife Training, Bleeding Cuts, Mist Stalker
3. Vistani Knife Training, Deadly Blades, Dexterity
4. Vistani Knife Training, Celerity

Swashbuckler (13 AP)
• Confidence, Swashbuckling
1. On Your Toes III, Tavern Shanties III
2. Fast Movement
3. Dashing Scoundrel, Swift Strikes

Warchanter (11 AP)
• Skaldic: Constitution, Weapon Training, Song of Heroism
1. Inspired Bravery II, Poetic Edda III, Rough and Ready III

Occult Slayer (8 AP)
• Weapon Bond
1. Ear Smash III, Parrying Bond I
2. Knockout III

Shadar-kai (1 AP)
• Shadar-kai Grit


My next trial will be a fey version of the warlock: trade powered fire damage for unpowered sonic and a no-save daze. That daze might be just enough if the dps loss doesn't extend the fights too much.

[unbongwah]

All of the builds in my Iconics thread (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/472000-Iconic-Builds-for-New-Players) are meant to be viable with minimal or no extra gear. Also check the Iconic Challenge Farmer thread (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/419453-Help-me-craft-an-Iconic-Challenge-Farmer).

[Bjond]

All of the builds in my Iconics thread (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/472000-Iconic-Builds-for-New-Players) are meant to be viable with minimal or no extra gear. Also check the Iconic Challenge Farmer thread (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/419453-Help-me-craft-an-Iconic-Challenge-Farmer).

Those two threads are where I got the idea to use Iconics to find out what the game is like past raw newbie. You and ElisDee (sp?) have great ideas and your contributions to the forum are a tremendous boon to the game. IMHO, the closest to "ready" would be a warlock morninglord, which I think just needs non-asf armor. It's OK as is, but an Evard's at the boss would have done wonders (LOS to get them to pack up for it). A casting shield like Fanion permits Fey over Fiend for champ-CC + more AC, too.

However, IMHO, none of those builds can solo that quest on elite using just their birthday gear. Archer AI here is a step up from the classic brain-dead AI in other MMOs and it's just a simple "spread out to avoid melee and AE". It also makes this quest a real bear if you can't take being peppered by 4~8 archers while killing things 1x1. All those builds can handle sub-elite -- looks like higher difficulties add archers. I don't know if the ++archers thing is unique to this quest or a generic add for elite at this level and perhaps higher.

Hmm, I'm wondering about the DG build and if the cleric champ AI is smart enough to swap to light|positive. If they brainlessly cast negatives, that would be hilarious and might let DG do all but lions. I don't think it has KD immunity, champ CC, or enough AC to take on 3 lions at once (and it lacks disable for the bear-trap split).

=~=~= some commentary, long and likely only useful for other newbies :)

BTW, I've since managed to clear everything, including the boss fight using a variant of the VFK Bardsmash build. It wasn't the build change that did it (less dps, more AC & tmp hp via "I like pain"). Extra AC was v.nice, but "I like Pain" was useless; it almost never procs. It was a tactical change: swap "summon monster I" for detect doors. Sneak at the boss-pack with your giant rat exposed. Everything jumps the rat in a nice tight little ball for fascinate, which was the biggest issue doing the classic singing charge -- stuff was too spread out. Smash/cc the champ, kill the boss, take out the trash. BTW, don't use a strong pet or hireling that has an AE; if they live and just one critter remains un-cc'd they'll AE the entire pack.

I suspect rat-bait would work as well with invisible, but invis seriously drains sp if you use it often. The entire reason that strat is needed on the boss is due to the scripted wake-ups; nothing at the boss can be targeted without running in amongst them to wake them up. Invis+rat should hopefully adapt to other caster builds, too; eg. to create a nice pack for Evard's.

For the lions, disable device is important unless you have 2x champ-CCs, lots of AC, or KD immunity. Clear a path through the bear traps & pull lions into traps. Repeat until you have at most one untrapped. Kill it. The others leash back when they can't reach you. Rinse, repeat. Smash reduces two lions to one, but most of the time all lions get trapped, so no need. This is a special environment-based strategy. I prefer a global method -- perhaps pull, smash, keep running to leash the others, go back for the CC'd. Maybe just circle strafe with a throwing dagger on auto-attack?

It's a real shame vampiric isn't available on other daggers. VKF+Swash is incredibly fun. Maybe an Anthem item to permit liberal Fascinate + CSW pots + a crit-profile dagger would let this build stroll away from the vampiric as a real (beyond-L15) build. More dps = less time to take damage. IMHO, a build that needs any specific gear at all is extremely unfriendly to newbies; it presents a chicken & egg style dilemma. If you like starting as Shadar-Kai and don't mind risking it maybe *needing* the vampiric forever, this build is a lot of fun. At some point, I'll likely use this one again as a L15 farmer because it has so many tactical options available. It's completely disposable. And, a little BtA gear would only improve it while maintaining it's disposable nature.

I'd like open-locks. Sneak feels like the best skill-trade for that. It's really only an sp-saver and nice for exploring (1st time raw newbie). Invisible zeroes SP pretty quickly if used often. If OK with the ultra-annoying scroll and clicky use in this game (swap in, use, swap out), invisibility scrolls would work for SP-savings, too. Better player-skill at timing a fascinate-charge further reduces sneak's utility. If your trash-packs are melee, there's no need at all -- jog around them in a circle while singing (build has gear + 10% + bard-levels% runspeed).

[Discpsycho]

Seems like it should be doable with a DG EK. I'm not VIP so I can't try this on a first-lifer, unfortunately.

15 Wizard or 13 Wiz / 2 Rogue, depending on whether you want to be able to deal with bear traps. As a new 15 you'll have 56 AP: 40 points EK (all T5s), 11 points PM (Vamp form), remainder DG. Run acid spellsword for synergy with starting spellpower, pick up some AOE acid DOTs for dealing with groups such as the lions. With Neg Energy Bursts and Death Aura you'll have a decent burst heals and HOTs despite no negative spellpower from equipment

[psykopeta]

when there was the alabaster liones "free" for vips i purchased 1 month and created 1 toon in every server and ran quests on elite (i would say it was before reaper lol) at lvl til getting 2k favor

why 2k? cause... getting less would be less tp lol, also i though i would be able to manage it and yes, it worked

the toon was called rerollme and it was a LN morninglord 1 clr/1wiz/18 warlock, mostly because after creation i ran w/o armor and the rest of the gear was quite useful, the armor is heavy so it's a no-no, but gear is mostly fire-positive-light

it was con based (as 1st lifer w/o times it's not like a big difference lol), empower+maximize, took extend for buffs, eschew materials (yes, i know, but i didn''t want to spend time looking for guilds or teleports nor didn't have cash to purchase mats XD) and both mental toughness cause... you know, i would say it was to cast some more tentacles

IIRC it was something like 11TS and 45 ES

[Bjond]

Seems like it should be doable with a DG EK.

The one part about trying a wizard that worries me is my own experience with them in 3.5e outside DDO is that they're VERY dependent on DC. The little testing I did with a DC Warlock in DDO says "if it has a DC, it won't work". I'm attributing that to lack of specific gear and past-lives to fix that issue; ie. it's a first-life problem. Or, simply a lack of knowledge on my part. Not only do you need to get your DC up, but you have to know which critters are and are not susceptible to particular spells.

You mentioned EK/PM, which I've not tried, but read about a bit -- so, potentially no DC requirements and self-healing. You do need a TON of healing, though, to deal with the insane arrow-peppering from every pack on way to the final. I'm wondering if vamp-form + melee would provide that; it would be highly amusing if the cleric champs stuck to harm spells.

The final fight would be tough. DC-based would certainly help deal with the trash (even if half made the save on Banshee, it would still be helpful). Does EK/PM contain any no-save CC that would work on a champion? CC'ing the cleric would help immensely.


LN morninglord 1 clr/1wiz/18 warlock, mostly because after creation i ran w/o armor and the rest of the gear was quite useful

Ya, I have a 1clr/14war morninglord that provides lots of brainless fun -- just run in and burst away, though it's not quite strong enough to do that on the finale in Disciples of Shar. One tip for those with both Iconic and the Ravenloft stuff: go run "Into the Mists" as the first thing on an Iconic. You're highly likely to get some nice things in the chest, but the real reason is for the free Barovian weapon immediately afterwards (exit via the gate at the finish and jog down the path a bit to the free-weapon NPC). You get your pick of anything and those weapons are phenomenally better than all but Shadar-Kai's "Reward" dagger -- for about 10m of effort.

Also, for a Warlock, I'd recommend Fey pact. It's lower DPS due to mismatch on ML's gear and due to lack of easy access to stacking pact-power (no burnscar sash equiv), but you get a no-save 20s CC that works on orange named at Warlock L6. Fey grants another no-save CC later via Otto's, but I've not leveled one of these chars high enough to try that yet.

[lyrecono]

Have you tried a verson of the ac builds? Paladin fighter, wiz 1?

Bladeforged adds self heals and great sword dps whille the pdk adds shield ac/cc.
Not sure if you get enough enh points by 15 to pull it off, though.

[Saekee]

I would do an uncentered SDK assassin, 1 monk/1 fighter (at level 12)/13 rogue. 4 AP in ninja for stacking faster sneaking.

[Jetrule]

The test you run is the same one I have used. It is a bit challenging for a baseline quest especially doing the hidden cave optional. I find that the one shrine about 3/4 way through makes it too tough for most casters.

The first character I completed it on was a pure fighter pdk vanguard focused running with Tempys the cleric hireling, and potions of cold resist from the Estar arcane vendor. I have done it with several builds using that hire even casters with the cleric hires divine vitality adding just enough spell points.

As for true no hire soloing successes, I built a 1 fighter 14 druid pdk when druid got its recent pass and stomped it with a bear/wolf druid melee build. I think I picked up non metallic armor and a heal power item from my shared bank though. Probably a shield with a positive spell power ruby.

On the end fight unless I am charming I pull all the mobs back into the caves till the bosses leash then turn to fight the mobs, then the mephits then the priestess then the red name priest.

I most recently tried and failed with a deepgnome wizard eldritch knight build. It was all out of the box gear but hitpoints and defenses were just a bit too low for elite solo. I am sure it would have done it with a hire but I was just testing spell sword and general EK dps. I think I have done it with a deep gnome wizard who used alot of charm spells but I am not 100% if he was in starting gear.

[Bjond]

On the end fight unless I am charming I pull all the mobs back into the caves till the bosses leash then turn to fight the mobs, then the mephits then the priestess then the red name priest.

I didn't know they leashed. One trial died fighting in arm's reach of the max-pull wall. So, I thought you couldn't pull far enough to leash. With a reliable split on the pull, any build that doesn't burn up all it's resources before the very late shrine could likely be made to work.

I didn't try (or consider) Druids -- mostly due to personal taste and to avoid the learning curve for it. Thanks for the tip; I'll keep them in mind for the future.


I would do an uncentered SDK assassin, 1 monk/1 fighter (at level 12)/13 rogue. 4 AP in ninja for stacking faster sneaking.

IMHO, that build would be lucky to get past the first pack outside the cave. It might even get eaten by one of the little wolf-packs before the first group of humans. One KD and it's wolf-chow. I'd want hirelings and pots for this one.

BTW, I'm supposing you're intending to sneak up to a champ and one-shot it with assassinate. A sneak-capped SDK can't sneak up to the champs without being spotted and attacked pretty fast -- tried it on bard (to better place fascinate before the snipers all scampered off). It does let you get into the pack, but you only have about 1s to take your shot before they attack.

Also tried SDK as VKF/Warlock, which has the same overall strategy + improvements; ie. it has a no-save ranged CC that works on the champs (assassinate is melee and DC-based) and it has shining-through for heals. This build had to work hard to maintain constant dagger contact with the snipers (for vampiric heals) or risk death even with shining through.

I've been running a bunch of stuff on my main since I used Disciples of Shar as a test-trial and I can now see why so many people like cleave-style builds. Shar is kinda uniquely and intensely anti-melee with all the sniper-chasing. So, I don't think your suggestion/build is bad, just not good for solo'ing this one quest.


Have you tried a verson of the ac builds? Paladin fighter, wiz 1?

Bladeforged adds self heals and great sword dps whille the pdk adds shield ac/cc.
Not sure if you get enough enh points by 15 to pull it off, though.

I initially discounted pure melee due to past (non-DDO) experiences -- too dependent on outside support. For BF, I'd worry about SP for heals -- 25 SP is not cheap. The only shrine on that quest is really deep. If we expand the trial to include resources that are sustainable in normal play (hirelings & pots), I could see a heavy doing this if it can replicate Jetrule's boss-leashing at the finale.

BTW, 56 AP is tough, but it's enough to do a decent BF Paladin. I did a tempest/paladin with 17 AP in Scourge. That AP could have been spent on BF's tree. It's just too bad BF can't pick Silvanus.

[Stormraiser]

Try this

6 ranger 7 EK 2 monk ranged bow build

Or any repeater build

[Jetrule]

Try this

6 ranger 7 EK 2 monk ranged bow build

Or any repeater build

That goes against the no extra gear stricture. No Iconic starts with a bow or repeater.

For no extra gear and no hires or cold resist potions I think you need a character with good ac and elemental resist spell to minimize the constant steady low damage from archers.

Druid is limited to deepgnome, shadarkai or aasimar avenger due to armor restrictions and no shield for uber bear defenses. still natures warrior and wolf is strong for heroics. You need to take eschew materials for alot of spells though since you cant buy components and spell points will be tight. Essence of the shrike will help that. 4 legs good will keep you from getting knocked down and hold/charm animal are good antiwolf and lion spells. Jaws of winter is good temp hitpionts and ghost pack nice cc. I guess of the bad weapon choices I would go with the Aasimar Avenger for the least horrible dps. It would be very workable if you had a decent two handed weapon. With the mace or vamp dagger or light hammer Im not too sure though.

PDK Pali 12 fighter 2 sorc 1 seems about right defensively to me focusing on vanguard you get missile deflection resist energy good ac. Stunning shield self healing with ok spell points from 1 sorcerer but no holy sword :( Maybe 14 pali 1 fighter and rely on lay on hands and the 30 healing potions and heal amp..

Blade forged 14 pali 1 sorc would be lot better dps cleave build with shakier defenses. 35 points in KoTC, 13 in sacred defender. Holy retribution KoTC cleaves and smites are very good dps at this level. You wont have enough AP for reconstruct but you can cast alot of repair little wounds spells.. buff repair amp in racial tree. Get neg level immune for the priest for free as a forged.. yeah this looks doable.

The Deepgnome wiz running two weapon fighting and primarialy EK with harper for int to hit and damage and KTA is very very good dps. acid blasts will hit hard with the acid implement off hand and the reforged hammer main hand. You are completely reliant on the potions for self healing though and hit points wont be very high.

I bet you could get a 1 cleric 14 fvs Angel of vengeance focused build to work, Morning lord has great gear for that out of the box. Pick extra hit points i think though it is a tough choice. Spell point management is key with this. use alot of fully meta magicked sla's.

[Bjond]

Try [..] any repeater build

Actually, I did roll up a Gnome Light Repeater: F6/A6 as a potential framework for heroic TR on classes I don't want to play. Fusillade was fun. DPS wasn't quite as good as a melee, but the clear-rate was much higher due to full contact (no lost dps due to chasing). I could see how DPS would rocket up with PLs in Ranger & Monk.

It wants a hireling and/or pots for post-fight recovery. It doesn't get killed by any one pack, but it does get peppered by arrows and has no built-in recovery option. Can tack on your favorite healing class for a very low maintenance solo build. It requires LTR+3 for DG. So, didn't test healer on top, but I'm sure it would work.

I suspect the monkcher has the same issue with needing a hireling, lots of pots, or swapping out the same wiz that saddled my DG -- nice strong build, sustainable solo, just not quite able to bootstrap from zero on tougher elite quests. Unlike my gnome-focused xbow, your build could swap wiz for cleric via sun-elf.

[Deathdefy]

I like the challenge.

I'd be super cliché and go Sun Elf - 15 Cleric - Sun Domain and limit my SP usage to the SLAs of Sun Beam and Searing Light; plus Sunburst for blinding-cc on the hard bits.

16 build points into Con, 16 build points into Wis.

I'd take T5 Radiant Servant for the heal aura to save SP and rely on Divine Disciple / Sun Domain SLAs for damage.

I'm hopeful the dps from meta'd SLAs and okay Light Spell power gear from Sun Elf would brute force away the issues.

Will report back if I ever try it; doesn't seem like it'd be too hard so set up so I genuinely might.

1 - Max
3 - Emp
6 - Quicken
9 - Heighten
12 - SF: Evo
15 - Empower Healing (for the aura)

Enh
Rad Servant (36 points)
T5s (not the 4th Core)

Divine Disciple (rest of points)
Holy Smite SLA
/ attempt to get Wis / Light spell power / Evo DCs

[Saekee]

Is there any reward for completing this challenge? Edit: nevermind. Since I am not VIP I would need to run it three times so there is more time investment

edit: just did it on HN quickly enough; 13 rogue/2 ranger.

[Tilomere]

If you stack ES warlock temp hp aura on top of divine healing from cleric on a strength/charisma divine might build you should be able to faceroll elite with any melee iconic. You might need extra turning feat for charges. Skill heal.

[Saekee]

If you stack ES warlock temp hp aura on top of divine healing from cleric on a strength/charisma divine might build you should be able to faceroll elite with any melee iconic. You might need extra turning feat for charges. Skill heal.
Yes, I could not do it with a fast SDK assassin since you cannot assassinate the priests for insta-capturel. Gear is very limited too--has to come out of the box including spell components. For sdk that means daggers and one of them actually damages you. With no other healing, that gets old.

I was thinking of doing something with the PDK after the Knight's Training feat comes out since it comes with the longsword. maybe a heavy cleric splash for domain buffs and heals...I really do not know how to play some of these classes...played sneaky types too long...

OP did your initial builds succeed? Shar quest on elite is level 17, 2 above iconic starter

[Bjond]

Is there any reward for completing this challenge? Edit: nevermind. Since I am not VIP I would need to run it three times so there is more time investment

edit: just did it on HN quickly enough; 13 rogue/2 ranger.

Sorry, no reward. I'm pretty new. So, I don't have anything to offer other than my admiration for success. It's a **** hard quest to run as a baby iconic.

BTW, HN & HH are much easier. This quest scales difficulty by adding snipers to each pack. HN gives you a champ with maybe 1 sniper and 1 melee. HH is perhaps 2+2. HE is 8 or more snipers in each pack and sometimes an extra champ, too. And, true to form, they just scatter far and wide on agro then open fire.


OP did your initial builds succeed? Shar quest on elite is level 17, 2 above iconic starter

The two builds I posted in the initial article were the best. The one that actually succeeded was the bard / barbarian / rogue build. It's something of a niche/trick build, though. It relies so heavily on the vampiric healing from the reward dagger that I don't think it could come close to completing without it.

The other build that (almost) worked also relied on the vampiric dagger -- vkf + warlock. However, I never got the bosses to leash in the final. If I had known how to do that, I could see many other builds working. Also, the whole "infinite range" thing for ranged weapons can be abused to split champs out of the packs.

I'm not religious about the purity of the test. I'd see it as a fair test if you spent 15m gathering other gear or a little platinum to buy reagents and a cheap weapon off the AH. My desire was to create a fast and easy bootstrap and/or disposable farmer. Many of the builds and suggestions out there all seem to take for granted that one has maximum cannith crafting, banks full of collectibles, years worth of accumulated named gear, etc.. While those builds & suggestions are great as for providing goals, it doesn't help for bootstrap play.

[Saekee]

I would keep the challenge pure--just starter gear etc.

I think a good build would be 1 rogue SDK/8 druid wolf/ 6 EK. In this way you get heals, defenses, strong crit range, full Bab, ability to use both daggers (heal one in mainhand, second in offhand just for set bonus and no suffering the vengeful effect). Minor spellsword damage, synergy with druid spell animal attacks, etc.

[Bjond]

I would keep the challenge pure--just starter gear etc.

I think a good build would be 1 rogue SDK/8 druid wolf/ 6 EK. In this way you get heals, defenses, strong crit range, full Bab, ability to use both daggers (heal one in mainhand, second in offhand just for set bonus and no suffering the vengeful effect). Minor spellsword damage, synergy with druid spell animal attacks, etc.

If you really keep it pure, your druid and wizard wouldn't have reagents and be forced into eschew. Full purity is a bit absurd. It's gotta be close enough for a hand-grenade, though. No "just give it greensteel" or "you can always cannnith-craft ..". If you give it so much you'd hesitate to punch the delete button while it's geared (no unloading at the bank), you've gone too far.

BTW, my main has since TR'd into a sun-elf for eventual iconic stance bonus (nice for warlock) and now has cleric levels. Having a healer MC is huge for efficiency. It's not nearly as nice as shining-through mid-fight, but it's fantastic for removing status effects and post-fight. I can see how a healer-mc would do quite well in that quest -- as long as it was mostly healing post-fight.

[Coffey]

A was able to complete Disciples of Shar with three different PDK builds.

9 Clr Strength Domain 6 Ftr
Magic Backlash from Warpriest was hilariously effective in this quest. Also used Missile Shield from VG really helps a lot against archers.

6 Ftr 6 Clr Str Domain 3 Pal

Had around 40 of each saves nice tank right out of the box.

12 Sorc 3 Ftr SWF
Went with shock and awe here Tier 5 EK. Subtle Force for arrow deflection again a big help. Fire Shield was strong too.

Was a lot of fun thanks :)

[unbongwah]

PDK SWF Shar Runner
14/1 Paladin/Fighter
Lawful Good Purple Dragon Knight

Level Order
1. Fighter 6. Paladin 11. Paladin
2. Paladin 7. Paladin 12. Paladin
3. Paladin 8. Paladin 13. Paladin
4. Paladin 9. Paladin 14. Paladin
5. Paladin 10. Paladin 15. Paladin

Stats
32pt Level Up
---- --------
Strength 8 4: CHA
Dexterity 14 8: CHA
Constitution 14 12: CHA
Intelligence 10
Wisdom 10
Charisma 18

Feats
1 : Single Weapon Fighting
1 PDK : Force of Personality
1 Fighter: Precision
3 : Magical Training
6 : Improved Single Weapon Fighting
9 : Improved Critical: Slashing
12 : Greater Single Weapon Fighting
15 : Knight's Training
2 Deity : Follower of: Helm
7 Deity : Ever Watchful

Spells


Divine Favor (5), <Any>, <Any>
Resist Energy (9), <Any>
Cure Moderate Wounds (12), <Any>
Holy Sword (15)


Enhancements (56 of 60 AP)
Knight of the Chalice (39 AP)

Slayer of Evil, Courage of Heaven, Slayer of Evil II, Improved Courage of Heaven

Extra Turning III, Extra Smite II
Exalted Cleave III, Melee Power Boost III
Improved Restoration II, Vigor of Life, Exalted Smite I, Charisma
Censure Demons, Vigor of Life, Empowered Smite, Charisma
Censure Outsiders, Holy Retribution III, Avenging Cleave III, Sealed Life



Sacred Defender (14 AP)

Holy Bastion, Sacred Defense, Divine Righteousness

Extra Lay On Hands III, Durable Defense III
Resilient Defense II
Tenacious Defense III



Purple Dragon Knight (3 AP)

Damage Boost

Cormyrean Knight Training




Listed spells don't require reagents but you will need Owl's Wisdom potions if you don't want to rely on Ever Watchful for your WIS bonus.


https://i.imgur.com/ihTmiQi.jpg
Pros: high survivability, good DPS (for a paladin with a longsword anyway), Holy Retribution is a pretty good AoE instakill at this level
Cons: Took 27 1/2 minutes to finish, largely because I had no way of interrupting the Disciples from self-healing. They're immune to Holy Retribution's instakill, so they just keep going and going and going...

[cru121]

So I rolled a Tiefling Scoundrel with ranger 11 for IPS.
Scoundrel does not come with an Int item, so going harper is not really worth it.
It does come with a vorpal crossbow, so it ain't so bad.

AP I dumped 34ish into Inquisitive, 11 into swash and 13 into DWS.

Ran normal because not VIP. Will try harder difficulty later.

[Bjond]

I love seeing these builds. I wish the "test" was a bit shorter, but it does cover the case of "can this character do low-shrine quests, too?" If the build can handle Disciples with baby iconic gear, there's absolutely no doubt it will be quite effective once geared up!


AP I dumped 34ish into Inquisitive, 11 into swash and 13 into DWS.

I turned my thrower monk into an inquisitive for her second life (to earn scoundrel ITR feat). That tree is a LOT of fun and incredibly strong -- at level R1 solo of Impossible Demands was something she couldn't do as a thrower. Even post-29, Inquisitive DPS outperformed shuriken, though I suspect a real maximized thrower would top it (my thrower only had 86'ish DEX, iirc).

[Coffey]

Ran an aasimar scourge with inquis falconry with no problems.

I also ran an animal domain cleric with inquis falconry using the aasimar scourge iconic with absolute ease. So 14 cleric 1 ranger.

I used a heavy crossbow from my storage that had improved vorpal.

Was by far the easiest build to do this run with. Im sure it could be done with any class/MC. The DPS was great with the CC of falconry and 30% helpless damage.

The mobs were easy to deal with, just flip em the bird and mow them down :D