Need a Swim Build

[Djeserit]

I want to achieve a better swim skill. I am not very good at swimming for the Horn of Endurance in The Crucible. I seem to always hit the spikes and get killed. Even with evasion it doesn’t seem to help. I feel if I could get in there with a higher Swim skill, I would have a chance to learn the swim. I also want a high swim so I can get around the Vale faster and feel a high swim would be good in other quests like the Tomb of the Shadow Lord, which is one of my favorite quests.

I am thinking that I should go Barbarian mostly for strength when raging, and Barbarian Swim enhancements. But what class should I splash? Splash Wiz for extended Merfolk’s blessing or splash Bard for Focus Chant, or Fighter for the STR enhancement? How do I mix this up for the best total Swim?

I am pretty sure I will go Human for the Skill Boost Enhancement. (If Half-Orc was available I would do that.) But I am open to suggestions on race.

Items: I have a pair of Boots of Swim 15, but it’s RR Elf. I run The Shroud almost every day on my three capped clerics, so I can build a tier 3 STR skills item. What other items can I add to increase STR or Swim?

Best for last: During Festivult I received a +4 STR tome, unbound, from the Jester. I must have been a good boy!! I am really excited to use this tome for my first Barbarian toon, and I knew that will really boost my swim.

The final question is: what is the maximum achievable Swim after Mod 9?

Thanks for help with this build!

[EazyWeazy]

Ask your parents for a reroll.

But seriously, I've found the Crucible swim to be much more dependant on player skill rather than character skill.

[Goldeneye]

OPTION A:
Do some combination of a Human Fighter and Barbarian

-Use the fighter feats for skill focus swim
-Use the class enhancements for more points to swim
-Get the feat: athletic +swim
-Use barbarian rage for extra Str = +swim
-and go human, for versatility, and 20 seconds of +5 Swim
-add in a +15 swim item, and your golden
-Make an exceptional STR Skill Item from shroud
-get a bard to give you the +skill song

OPTION B:
-Make the rogue with an underwater action do the swim

Btw, If I had that +4 STR Tome (drool) I would trade it for a stack of large devil scales, or the ingredients to make a few full green steels

[Zenix_Leviticus]

The crucible swim is more about learning the swim than it is having a high swim skill.

A high swim skill will help, but I have made the elite swim on a cleric using nothing
but a GH and a swim+10 item.


I will give you some tips. If you want more than that, PM me.

Tips:

Anything that gives you temporary HP is great.
Take off your armor and shields.
Carry rage, aid, and cure serious potions.
Have an underwater action item on.
Have a swim +10 item or better on.
Don't get in a hurry!
Look at the terrain and use it to your advantage.
Merfolks' Blessing helps.
STR stat items will help.
Greater Heroism helps.


Finally the most important tip of all, avoid the spikes.

[Sequell]

Please tell me this isn't a serious post...It just has to be a April Fool!

If this is true...I just don't know what to say...

[SableShadow]

Nice April Fools post! X-D

[Thrudh]

When I was building my ranger, Crucible was still a top quest, and I always wanted to be the one to make the swim (None of my other characters at the time had evasion)...

so I probably spent 5-8 skill points on swim, and got myself the best swim boots I could find...

And then I got to learn the swim (after everyone recalled out, I swam it few more times)

This was before Merfolks Blessing (or whatever spell gives you +10 to swim)