2HF Purple Dragon Knight for Past Life Purposes

[SpookyNoodle]

Howdy all, your incompetent rigatoni has returned.

A few months ago, I had some delusions about making a first life tank, and after I was vigorously and repeatedly told what a terrible idea that was and how stupid I was for thinking of it, I decided to come up with something else.

So, with the idea that this will eventually become a dedicated, self-sustain, hardcore tank, here's something to help me grind out some past lives (mostly epic, though I will be going for 3x paladin past lives as well).

Behold my dumpster fire:


PDK THF Paladin
19/1 Paladin/Fighter
Lawful Good Purple Dragon Knight


Level Order

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

Stats
34pt 36pt Level Up
---- ---- --------
Strength 15 16 4: STR
Dexterity 14 14 8: STR
Constitution 16 16 12: CHA
Intelligence 8 8 16: CHA
Wisdom 8 8 20: CHA
Charisma 16 16 24: CHA
28: CHA

Skills
F F P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
------------------------------------------------------------
Heal 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
UMD 2 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 10
Jump 1 1
------------------------------------------------------------
8 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Feats

1 : Two Handed Fighting
1 PDK : Power Attack
1 Fighter: Precision
3 : Stunning Blow
6 : Force of Personality
9 : Improved Two Handed Fighting
12 : Greater Two Handed Fighting
15 : Improved Critical: Slashing
18 : Improved Sunder
21 Epic : Overwhelming Critical
24 Epic : Weapon Focus: Slashing
26 Destiny: Perfect Two Handed Fighting
27 Epic : Blinding Speed
28 Destiny: Holy Strike
29 Destiny: Dire Charge
30 Epic : Epic Damage Reduction
30 Legend : Scion of: Arborea

2 Deity : Follower of: Amaunator
7 Deity : Amaunator's Flames

Spells

Bless (5), <Any>, <Any>, <Any>
Angelskin (9), Owl's Wisdom (11), Resist Energy (17), Remove Paralysis (20)
Remove Curse (12), Cure Moderate Wounds (13), Prayer (20), <Any>
Holy Sword (15), Zeal (16), Death Ward (20)

Enhancements (80+1 AP)

Knight of the Chalice (37 AP) Slayer of Evil, Courage of Heaven, Slayer of Evil II, Improved Courage of Heaven, Slayer of Evil III Shieldbreaker II, Extra Smite III
Divine Might III, Exalted Cleave
Holy Combatant, Sacrificial Shot I, Lead the Charge III, Exalted Strike III, Charisma
Censure Demons, Charisma
Ascendency, Censure Outsiders, Avenging Cleave, Retributive Strike
Sacred Defender (31 AP) Holy Bastion, Sacred Defense, Divine Righteousness, Redemption, Glorious Stand Extra Lay On Hands III, Durable Defense III, Sacred Armor Mastery III
Resilient Defense III
Inciting Defense III, Hardy Defense III, Charisma
Reinforced Armor III, Swift Defense, Charisma
Purple Dragon Knight (13 AP) Damage Boost, Charisma Cormyrean Knight Training, Improved Recovery, Don't Count Me Out III
Great Weapon Aptitude III

Destiny (24 AP)

Divine Crusader Endless Turning III, Purge the Wicked, Charisma
Confront Any Foe, Consecration I, Charisma
Charisma
No Regret, Charisma
Castigation, Celestial Champion
The Book of War: Wrath of the Divine, Strike Down

Destiny (Secondary) (24 AP)

Legendary Dreadnought Extra Action Boost II, Constitution
Momentum Swing III, Imp. Power Attack, Damage Boost II
Lay Waste, Haste Boost III
Volcano's Edge
Advancing Blows, Devastating Critical
Master's Blitz

Endgame Gear

Eye: Legendary Collective Sight{insight Charisma 10}{enhancement Constitution 21}
Head: Epic Memories of Kindness
Neck: Legendary Family Recruit Sigil
Trinket: Legendary Battleworn Medal
Body: Legendary Enforcer's Plate
Back: Legendary Cloak of the City's Champion
Wrist: Brightlord, the Sigil of the Flame
Waist: Legendary Belt of Sure Strikes
Finger1: Legendary Band of Insightful Commands
Feet: Legendary Flightfoot Greaves
Hand: Legendary Hammerfist
Finger2: Legendary Celestial Ruby Ring{enhancement Strength 21}
Weapon: Sanctity, the Morninglord's Keep

Levelling Gear

Eye: Collective Sight{insight Charisma 3}{enhancement Wisdom 8}
Neck: Family Recruit Sigil
Trinket: Voice of the Master
Body: Enforcer's Plate
Back: Cloak of the City's Champion
Waist: Bronze Dragonscale Belt
Finger1: Band of Insightful Commands
Feet: Knight's Sabatons
Hand: Hammerfist
Finger2: Celestial Topaz Ring{enhancement Charisma 8}
Weapon: Echo of Blackrazor

It seems inevitable that I have messed this up in some way, and so I come to you with a humble request to look this over, see if I've missed anything major, and to offer any suggestions you might have regarding ways to make this a little better.

[Krelar]

There's no reason to go Silvanus if you're not going to use mauls. I'd go with Amaunator for the free permanent mini-fire shield.

Personally I'd take the 2nd fighter level later, get holy sword as soon as you can then take the 2nd level.

[SpookyNoodle]

There's no reason to go Silvanus if you're not going to use mauls. I'd go with Amaunator for the free permanent mini-fire shield.

Personally I'd take the 2nd fighter level later, get holy sword as soon as you can then take the 2nd level.

The plan was to switch into mauls when encountering skeles, though the fire shield sounds nice. This guy is always going to start at level 15, so level order doesn't particularly matter. It's only a difference of whether I start with Holy Sword, or have to go 1 level without it. But I can see the logic in delaying it.

[unbongwah]

A few months ago, I had some delusions about making a first life tank, and after I was vigorously and repeatedly told what a terrible idea that was and how stupid I was for thinking of it
There's nothing wrong with running a first-life S&B toon (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/512108-PDK-Vanguard-of-Helm-(U45)) if that's what you want to play, but when you tell people you're specifically making a tank - especially if you mention the words "Reaper" or "endgame" - that's going to come with certain expectations re: the current meta and the state of raid-tanking in general.

For better or for worse, there's not much call for a "casual" tank in DDO anymore, because easier content doesn't require a dedicated tank and harder content requires a tank who has made a long-term investment in gearing, past lives, etc. That's been the case for a long time but the escalating power creep makes the disparity between "casual" and "dedicated" more pronounced with every update.

Anyway, as for this build, a few specific comments:

Dodge+Mobility aren't worth it on their own IMO. Only take them as pre-reqs for Spring Attack, Whirlwind, and/or the Enhancements which require them.
Paladin 19 gives you a third level 4 spell slot. If we presume the first two are dedicated to Zeal and Holy Sword, ask yourself if an extra feat is worth more than Death Ward or CSW. [Dodge+Mobility are not.]
Alternatively, consider a different splash than fighter 2, like wizard or sorcerer for Eldritch Cleave + Improved Mage Armor (wiz gives free metamagic, sorc gives a bit more SPs); or warlock for Feigned Health and Taint the Blood (also unlocks UMD as class skill).
Have you really not taken any tomes this life (or will before you TR)? It is a bit unusual not to at least unlock a +2 from Favor (https://ddowiki.com/page/Favor#Total_Favor) even on a first life. Not that it's a build-breaker, but a +2 STR would let you go all-in on CHA for level-ups.
I agree you shouldn't take Silvanus for a greatsword-only build. OTOH if your plan is to use both mauls and greatswords, then you should squeeze in Improved Critical Blunt and Pulverizer. But remember that maul damage will be based on STR not CHA since Cormyrian Knight Training doesn't apply and paladins didn't get Grace of Battle like Favored Soul. So you would only want to use mauls for DR/blunt foes like skeletons.

[SpookyNoodle]

There's nothing wrong with running a first-life S&B toon (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/512108-PDK-Vanguard-of-Helm-(U45)) if that's what you want to play, but when you tell people you're specifically making a tank - especially if you mention the words "Reaper" or "endgame" - that's going to come with certain expectations re: the current meta and the state of raid-tanking in general.

For better or for worse, there's not much call for a "casual" tank in DDO anymore, because easier content doesn't require a dedicated tank and harder content requires a tank who has made a long-term investment in gearing, past lives, etc. That's been the case for a long time but the escalating power creep makes the disparity between "casual" and "dedicated" more pronounced with every update.

Anyway, as for this build, a few specific comments:

Dodge+Mobility aren't worth it on their own IMO. Only take them as pre-reqs for Spring Attack, Whirlwind, and/or the Enhancements which require them.
Paladin 19 gives you a third level 4 spell slot. If we presume the first two are dedicated to Zeal and Holy Sword, ask yourself if an extra feat is worth more than Death Ward or CSW. [Dodge+Mobility are not.]
Alternatively, consider a different splash than fighter 2, like wizard or sorcerer for Eldritch Cleave + Improved Mage Armor (wiz gives free metamagic, sorc gives a bit more SPs); or warlock for Feigned Health and Taint the Blood (also unlocks UMD as class skill).
Have you really not taken any tomes this life (or will before you TR)? It is a bit unusual not to at least unlock a +2 from Favor (https://ddowiki.com/page/Favor#Total_Favor) even on a first life. Not that it's a build-breaker, but a +2 STR would let you go all-in on CHA for level-ups.
I agree you shouldn't take Silvanus for a greatsword-only build. OTOH if your plan is to use both mauls and greatswords, then you should squeeze in Improved Critical Blunt and Pulverizer. But remember that maul damage will be based on STR not CHA since Cormyrian Knight Training doesn't apply and paladins didn't get Grace of Battle like Favored Soul. So you would only want to use mauls for DR/blunt foes like skeletons.


Yeah, I've been going back and forth on Dodge/Mobility a lot. My initial build didn't have them, a friend recommended taking them to improve MDB, then you say they're not worth it, so I'm just not sure. When you mention the extra spell slot, that does sound much more worth it than an extra feat, so I think having easy access to death ward would be worth the trade.

I actually do have tomes on this character, I just don't remember which ones they are, so I didn't want to commit them in the build. This character was the one with delusions of being a main tank, so I think I put the +2 Tome into CON.

[SpookyNoodle]

There's nothing wrong with running a first-life S&B toon (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/512108-PDK-Vanguard-of-Helm-(U45)) if that's what you want to play, but when you tell people you're specifically making a tank - especially if you mention the words "Reaper" or "endgame" - that's going to come with certain expectations re: the current meta and the state of raid-tanking in general.

For better or for worse, there's not much call for a "casual" tank in DDO anymore, because easier content doesn't require a dedicated tank and harder content requires a tank who has made a long-term investment in gearing, past lives, etc. That's been the case for a long time but the escalating power creep makes the disparity between "casual" and "dedicated" more pronounced with every update.

Anyway, as for this build, a few specific comments:

Dodge+Mobility aren't worth it on their own IMO. Only take them as pre-reqs for Spring Attack, Whirlwind, and/or the Enhancements which require them.
Paladin 19 gives you a third level 4 spell slot. If we presume the first two are dedicated to Zeal and Holy Sword, ask yourself if an extra feat is worth more than Death Ward or CSW. [Dodge+Mobility are not.]
Alternatively, consider a different splash than fighter 2, like wizard or sorcerer for Eldritch Cleave + Improved Mage Armor (wiz gives free metamagic, sorc gives a bit more SPs); or warlock for Feigned Health and Taint the Blood (also unlocks UMD as class skill).
Have you really not taken any tomes this life (or will before you TR)? It is a bit unusual not to at least unlock a +2 from Favor (https://ddowiki.com/page/Favor#Total_Favor) even on a first life. Not that it's a build-breaker, but a +2 STR would let you go all-in on CHA for level-ups.
I agree you shouldn't take Silvanus for a greatsword-only build. OTOH if your plan is to use both mauls and greatswords, then you should squeeze in Improved Critical Blunt and Pulverizer. But remember that maul damage will be based on STR not CHA since Cormyrian Knight Training doesn't apply and paladins didn't get Grace of Battle like Favored Soul. So you would only want to use mauls for DR/blunt foes like skeletons.


Okay, that's pretty interesting. I made some adjustments, let me know what you think.


PDK THF Paladin
19/1 Paladin/Fighter
Lawful Good Purple Dragon Knight


Level Order

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

Stats
34pt 36pt Level Up
---- ---- --------
Strength 15 16 4: STR
Dexterity 14 14 8: STR
Constitution 16 16 12: CHA
Intelligence 8 8 16: CHA
Wisdom 8 8 20: CHA
Charisma 16 16 24: CHA
28: CHA

Skills
F F P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
------------------------------------------------------------
Heal 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 23
UMD 2 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 10
Jump 1 1
------------------------------------------------------------
8 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Feats

1 : Two Handed Fighting
1 PDK : Power Attack
1 Fighter: Precision
3 : Stunning Blow
6 : Force of Personality
9 : Improved Two Handed Fighting
12 : Greater Two Handed Fighting
15 : Improved Critical: Slashing
18 : Improved Sunder
21 Epic : Overwhelming Critical
24 Epic : Weapon Focus: Slashing
26 Destiny: Perfect Two Handed Fighting
27 Epic : Blinding Speed
28 Destiny: Holy Strike
29 Destiny: Dire Charge
30 Epic : Epic Damage Reduction
30 Legend : Scion of: Arborea

2 Deity : Follower of: Amaunator
7 Deity : Amaunator's Flames

Spells

Bless (5), <Any>, <Any>, <Any>
Angelskin (9), Owl's Wisdom (11), Resist Energy (17), Remove Paralysis (20)
Remove Curse (12), Cure Moderate Wounds (13), Prayer (20), <Any>
Holy Sword (15), Zeal (16), Death Ward (20)

Enhancements (80+1 AP)

Knight of the Chalice (37 AP) Slayer of Evil, Courage of Heaven, Slayer of Evil II, Improved Courage of Heaven, Slayer of Evil III Shieldbreaker II, Extra Smite III
Divine Might III, Exalted Cleave
Holy Combatant, Sacrificial Shot I, Lead the Charge III, Exalted Strike III, Charisma
Censure Demons, Charisma
Ascendency, Censure Outsiders, Avenging Cleave, Retributive Strike
Sacred Defender (31 AP) Holy Bastion, Sacred Defense, Divine Righteousness, Redemption, Glorious Stand Extra Lay On Hands III, Durable Defense III, Sacred Armor Mastery III
Resilient Defense III
Inciting Defense III, Hardy Defense III, Charisma
Reinforced Armor III, Swift Defense, Charisma
Purple Dragon Knight (13 AP) Damage Boost, Charisma Cormyrean Knight Training, Improved Recovery, Don't Count Me Out III
Great Weapon Aptitude III

Destiny (24 AP)

Divine Crusader Endless Turning III, Purge the Wicked, Charisma
Confront Any Foe, Consecration I, Charisma
Charisma
No Regret, Charisma
Castigation, Celestial Champion
The Book of War: Wrath of the Divine, Strike Down

Destiny (Secondary) (24 AP)

Legendary Dreadnought Extra Action Boost II, Constitution
Momentum Swing III, Imp. Power Attack, Damage Boost II
Lay Waste, Haste Boost III
Volcano's Edge
Advancing Blows, Devastating Critical
Master's Blitz

Endgame Gear

Eye: Legendary Collective Sight{insight Charisma 10}{enhancement Constitution 21}
Head: Epic Memories of Kindness
Neck: Legendary Family Recruit Sigil
Trinket: Legendary Battleworn Medal
Body: Legendary Enforcer's Plate
Back: Legendary Cloak of the City's Champion
Wrist: Brightlord, the Sigil of the Flame
Waist: Legendary Belt of Sure Strikes
Finger1: Legendary Band of Insightful Commands
Feet: Legendary Flightfoot Greaves
Hand: Legendary Hammerfist
Finger2: Legendary Celestial Ruby Ring{enhancement Strength 21}
Weapon: Sanctity, the Morninglord's Keep

Levelling Gear

Eye: Collective Sight{insight Charisma 3}{enhancement Wisdom 8}
Neck: Family Recruit Sigil
Trinket: Voice of the Master
Body: Enforcer's Plate
Back: Cloak of the City's Champion
Waist: Bronze Dragonscale Belt
Finger1: Band of Insightful Commands
Feet: Knight's Sabatons
Hand: Hammerfist
Finger2: Celestial Topaz Ring{enhancement Charisma 8}
Weapon: Echo of Blackrazor

[unbongwah]

If you're not investing in Concentration, you should definitely take Quicken.

[SpookyNoodle]

If you're not investing in Concentration, you should definitely take Quicken.

Well, my thought process was that I was only really casting buffs at the beginning of the quest, and rezzing people when the fight it over. Unless you think I should move the skill points from Intim to Concentration?

[Tobril]

Do you specifically need PDK lives?

Have you considered Bladeforged instead? Reconstruct, Weapon Attachment, Power of the Forge..lots of tasty treats that make 15-30 on R1 rather smooth on an Iconic.

For just going straight "up and down" through the leveling process you won't get as much benefit out of the PDK version due to the massive CHA gulf occurring mostly at level 29+

(If you're going to stay capped and grind high reaper 1st time bonuses the PDK will give more performance, though losing the capstone certainly hurts)


Also my take on AP spending:

https://i.imgur.com/VSH0G1a.png