Fiendish Arpeggio

[Ventros2000]

Looking for more info about the Fiendish Arpeggio SLA that Tiefling Scoundrel gets. Does it accept metamagic? Is there a limited number of uses, or a spell point cost? What's the cooldown? It says "enchant your fiddle," so does that mean you can't use Fiendish Arpeggio of you remove your bard level?

Based on he wiki, Fiendish Arpeggio seems stronger than the Scorch SLA from the non-iconic Tiefling. Two different damage types, plus it does damage over time. Thoughts or experiences? Fiendish Arpeggio seemed positively received in the few forum posts where it was mentioned.

I couldn't find any detailed info on this on the wiki (beyond the initial description), compendium, or forum, but it's possible I missed something.

[Discpsycho]

I haven't purchased or played a Scoundrel yet, but based on the Wiki it doesn't look nearly as good as Scorch.

It is a SLA, so presumably it costs SP and can be Metamagicked. Using Gnome, Dragonborn, and Tiefling's SLAs as points of theoretical comparison, my guess would be Empower / Maximize / Quicken / Enlarge / Embolden / Intensify.

Otherwise, it's fairly underwhelming past the earliest levels. It starts at 2d6, scaling to 2d6+10 damage per 2 seconds by level 20. Though the total damage is high, Bards are usually melee and the majority of enemies don't live for 12 seconds in melee. Bard splashes aren't usually ranged, either.

Spells that rely on two spellpowers aren't as popular: Burning Blood and Flame Strike don't get much play, and Meteor Swarm does because of its insanely high base damage. I can't think of any casters that use both sonic and fire. Admittedly you can use one the higher of Sonic/Fire spellpower with an enhancement, but it's a T4 racial and therefore takes some investment (or a lot of Racial AP)

Scorch, on the other hand, uses a single element. It gets 1d6+2 damage per caster level (up to 10) and hits multiple targets in a fairly large cone. Fire Sorcerers rely a lot on their tree's Scorch SLA, so having a second one with a different cooldown timer is pretty rad

[Mindos]

Edit: It comes with this according to the scoundrel wiki page (https://ddowiki.com/page/Tiefling_Scoundrel):

Flametouched Fiddle - Quiver (Note: The fiddle is Bound to Account and has no race requirement.* On a non-scoundrel, it affects the way bard songs are played, however it does not play on every spell cast as it does on a scoundrel.)

(* This has been confirmed by equipping the quiver on a heroic-level dwarf bard.)


I found a picture but i don't know anything about it

https://i.imgur.com/Cuh0z30.jpg

[GeoffWatson]

It's excellent with Ash Imprisonment; a CC or boss debuff with a really high DC.

Without it, it's OK. Accepts a lot of metamagics, but even with them the damage isn't fantastic.

[cru121]

What's the cooldown BTW? (for the wiki...)

[Ventros2000]

Thank you! Appreciate the info.

Good point about split spell power. And I didn't catch that the d6 in Fiendish Arpeggio doesn't scale with level.

Is the range / effect area similar between Fiendish Arpeggio and Scorch?

I'm looking at this for a non-bard character on Hardcore Server (I'd keep the 1 level of bard). So I wouldn't get the actual fiddle until level 15. Would the Fiendish Arpeggio work without the fiddle quiver item?

One advantage of Fiendish Arpeggio over Tiefling Scorch is that I don't have to spend any Action Points to get it.

[GeoffWatson]

Thank you! Appreciate the info.

Good point about split spell power. And I didn't catch that the d6 in Fiendish Arpeggio doesn't scale with level.

Is the range / effect area similar between Fiendish Arpeggio and Scorch?

I'm looking at this for a non-bard character on Hardcore Server (I'd keep the 1 level of bard). So I wouldn't get the actual fiddle until level 15. Would the Fiendish Arpeggio work without the fiddle quiver item?

One advantage of Fiendish Arpeggio over Tiefling Scorch is that I don't have to spend any Action Points to get it.

FA is standard spell range and one target, Scorch is a cone.
You don't need the fiddle item - it does nothing for a Tiefling Scoundrel.

[Snapdragoon]

with ash imprisonment its one of the best CC's in the game, as it can effect reapers. and because its perform based the DC is really high.