Doable TR? Solo Multiclass Elf AA with Ranger Capstone

[PrinceMyshkin]

I've played DDO for many years, always as a solo casual player. I'm not a scholar of the game, just play for fun.

I've tried many different builds and found that the only kind I really enjoy is some kind of ranged weapon and trapper skills, and I don't like Monk splashes. I've tried builds like Tempest Warpriest and Rusty Shiv but found I always ended up using only my bow so I don't bother with any melee ability anymore.

My favorite builds have either been Ranger/Rogue (18/2 or 16/4) Dex Longbow or an Int based Rogue Xbow. The AA capstone looks really nice and I've wondered if I could TR into a Elf Ranger/Rogue and use the Elf AA tree to get the capstone at L25.

I've found that I never get around to making traps so 2 levels of Rogue are enough, and probably 14 Ranger levels are enough as that gets me FoM. I was thinking of either taking some Pally levels for better saves or Wizard for Wraith form/self healing. I've always played Halfling in the past for self healing.

It generally takes me about 3 or more years to get to 20. I often end up playing alts because I don't have enough time for the longer high level quests and often the build I started with becomes obsolete and that alt becomes a mule. I'm hoping for a build I'll enjoy all the way to 30. I don't care about being uber nor do I expect to solo EE. First life was 18/2 Rgr/Rog, Second was a Pal/Rog XBower that turned out to be a broken build (IIRC, something in the game changed regarding Pallys and I didn't know how to fix the build) and I ended up Ottoing through. My current one is a 20+ Rogue Xbow. This will very likely be my last TR so I want to get it right.

I'm VIP/Season Pass, +8 Supreme Tome. I think I have all trees and races but not the recent Iconics (Scourge and Scoundrel), but I don't want to do Iconic anyway. As a solo player, no special equipment is possible unless I can craft it from non-raid, non-challenge mats. I have to play without sound and often have to go AFK for indefinite periods of time without notice so I'd be a burden to any group.

Suggestions?

[KoobTheProud]

This is a serious answer based on what you posted above about preferences for fun play.

Try a pure Human Great Old One Warlock with a Soul Eater/Tainted Scholar split. You will get very good ranged damaged from Eldritch Blast and the various shapes you can use with it. You will get the spell Knock at level 5 so you will be able to unlock doors and chests at roughly the same time that a similar level Rogue would. You'll get Jump early on for excellent maneuverability and perch access. You'll get UMD at very high levels allowing access to lots of things earlier than you'd expect. You'll get the best CC spell in the game for a soloist in Evard's Black Tentacles just when things get a bit harder at level 10.

Generally speaking a GOO Warlock is the best casual quester class in the game at this point. The power level is high enough that it can roll through most content, allowing you to solo zerg instances you know well when your time to play is short. The difficulty level is not hard for successful leveling and you can level very quickly once you learn the in's and outs. You can put your own spin on how to play Warlock and just have a lot of fun with that.

I had a dancer for a couple of lives who basically was constantly in the midst of combat and doing a lot of damage without taking much in return and without ever using a weapon for anything but the stats. Then I had a ranged blaster using cone shape and moving to channel mobs into the cone. I ran a life with bastard sword and shield, only using ranged blasts against targets out of melee range or impervious to melee. There are so many different ways to play a Warlock.

The important thing is that you can pattern virtually any play style onto a Warlock and make it work, although there are clearly much better choices alongside all the personal preference ones.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Thanks, Koob! I agree there are a lot of quests that are laughably easy with Warlock. The killer (literally) here is that I'm not very good at remembering where traps are and my attempts at Warlock haven't been very successful for that reason. For obvious reasons, the higher level the quest, the more likely that is the case. Often my hireling doesn't warn me either. I do have a Warlock trapper on another server that is doing quite well. Not only the spotting but that Evasion with 2 Rogue is often a lifesaver for me. Perhaps I can free up a slot on my main server and give it a try. Secondly, and this is probably something I just haven't figured out, I haven't found anything like Arrow of Slaying or Head Shot that can do big damage to a single target when needed. I haven't gotten that far, but I suspect a battle with Falrinth would be short and bitter. No?

That being said, easy and fun are not always the same thing. I like archers. "The heart has reasons that reason knows not of."--Pascal

Edit: Looking at my records, case in point, my Warlock was one of the few characters that could not do the Anniversary Party quest at level or at -1 level. I don't remember but it may have been Lichabel that he couldn't handle.

[KoobTheProud]

Thanks, Koob! I agree there are a lot of quests that are laughably easy with Warlock. The killer (literally) here is that I'm not very good at remembering where traps are and my attempts at Warlock haven't been very successful for that reason. For obvious reasons, the higher level the quest, the more likely that is the case. Often my hireling doesn't warn me either. I do have a Warlock trapper on another server that is doing quite well. Not only the spotting but that Evasion with 2 Rogue is often a lifesaver for me. Perhaps I can free up a slot on my main server and give it a try. Secondly, and this is probably something I just haven't figured out, I haven't found anything like Arrow of Slaying or Head Shot that can do big damage to a single target when needed. I haven't gotten that far, but I suspect a battle with Falrinth would be short and bitter. No?

That being said, easy and fun are not always the same thing. I like archers. "The heart has reasons that reason knows not of."--Pascal

Edit: Looking at my records, case in point, my Warlock was one of the few characters that could not do the Anniversary Party quest at level or at -1 level. I don't remember but it may have been Lichabel that he couldn't handle.

Lichabel was definitely not a fair fight. :)

I think I attrition Falrinth down when on a Warlock. Not 100% sure because I generally avoid ToEE like the plague now that I've farmed everything I wanted out of it. I have a fairly unique playstyle on locks where I am constantly on the move re-arranging mobs for best effect and avoiding most of the damage in the process.

The reason I mentioned Warlock in context with your post above is that I too was always a ranged or melee/rogue split prior to 2015. Warlocks opened up a lot that the multi-classes could not do well and I thought you might find a similar experience. If you've played Warlock enough to know that it is not the answer then disregard. :)

[Buddha5440]

This is definitely do-able. One of my two main toons is an elf AA (Rng/Rog/whatever 6/2/12) running heroic past lives. She has never used a melee weapon (except to break doors/walls, but that is no longer an issue) and is quite fun to play. With 8 levels of rng/rog you have plenty of skill points to put into search/spot/disable and hide/move silent to a lesser extent (open lock is fine with ~10 pts). 6 levels of ranger will get you access to sniper shot (DWS tree) which works nicely with sneak attacks and IPS (just target a mob at the end of the line and they are all vulnerable for 4 seconds). I suggest picking 1 elemental imbue (I go with cold but everyone has their favorite) plus force and use the Elemental Damage enhancement for the remaining tiers.

As for the freedom of movement, consider these: Flightfoot Greaves (https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Flightfoot_Greaves). ML 10 from one of the easiest Ravenloft quests.

You will be a little starved for AP's when you switch to elf AA (you need 14 in the elf tree to unlock it) so I suggest using the ranger tree until higher levels.

Find some double augment bows and slot 1 elemental sp and 1 impulse sp augment every 4 levels (that way you can switch imbues without needing to switch weapons and keep the spell power boost). Try to get crafting to the point you can make insightful spell power shards (CC lv 225) and make a bow with good (for dr) and insightful elemental SP at higher levels as the increased damage from the sp will outdo any damage adding suffix (depends on what tier of elemental arrows you have as to when this happens).

Ravenloft bow works well slotted with impulse against undead from pretty much lv 10-20 (it's also good against trash mobs but your elemental damage will be slightly higher than your force damage due to the Xd8 vs Xd6 damage).

Ultimately, you'll be able to do all traps/locks, heal with wands (if not divine multi-class), have unlimited ammo, decent burst DPS (manyshot) and, if you must, switch to twf.

[unbongwah]

The AA capstone looks really nice and I've wondered if I could TR into a Elf Ranger/Rogue and use the Elf AA tree to get the capstone at L25.
Yes, although the AP cost of the racial AA tree limits how many points you can put into DWS: e.g., 41 AA / 14 elf (unlocks AA tree) / 25 DWS.

Also with the buffs to DWS's tier-5, I'm wondering if that's the better tree to focus on for a ranger 18 archer. Both the AA capstone and Strikes Like Lightning provide +20% Doubleshot, so that's a wash. So is the crit multiplier from Shadow Arrows vs Heavy Draw. So it becomes about the other tier-5s: e.g. Arrow of Slaying vs Improved Archer's Focus. So something like 42 DWS / 31 AA / 7 elf. But that's just a question of APs which are easy to reassign.

There's not really any need for rogue 2 on a ranger, which is why I prefer other splashes, such as barbarian for +10% runspeed (my personal favorite), fighter for an extra feat (particularly helpful if you want to add Shot on the Run for the +10% Ranged Alacrity), or Favored Soul for Divine Will (pumping up WIS also boosts DCs on Terror/Paralyzing Arrows).

[PrinceMyshkin]

Thanks very much, everyone.

What you describe, Buddha, is pretty much what I'm used to and I definitely want to keep that. I've always used Acid (probably Strimtom's influence) and tend to hoard corrosion boosting items. That imbue column is very powerful. I tend toward T5 DWS/T4 AA. It seems like Head Shot is often about as good as Arrow of Slaying and I don't have to worry about SPs running out in crucial moments.

Unfortunately, FVS is not a possibility (I misspoke in the OP). In fact, that's one of the reasons I'm doing the TR. I moved my main to another server (long story) so I don't have FVS on the new server and want to earn it on this new server. As mentioned in my reply to Koob, I've not had good success with any non-trapping char. Besides, if I don't splash Rogue I might as well go 20 Ranger. Still can't decide on the third class. I do like lots of skill points. If I only do 11 Ranger (free IPS), that would leave 7 levels for another class. I like Dex based so both attack and defense largely depend on a single attribute. Maybe 6 Barb and a 3rd Rogue (extra SA die)? Or, it looks like I could go 11 Rgr, 9 Art with the bonus feats making Shot on the Run easier to get. 6 Pally levels still look good to me for defense but that's a pretty big skill point hit.

Guess I need to spend some time with a planner. About my only complaint I have had with my builds while leveling is susceptibility to magic attacks, especially Sleep, Hold Person, and Dancing. The Elf takes care of the first one but I could use some help with the other 2. That's why Pally as a 3rd class looks good to me.