Favored Soul w/ Monk Light buffs

[Eurytos]

EDIT:: Going back to handwraps, longsword will do less damage than handwraps, even with just 3 levels of monk splash. See: http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=248825 for calculations. Page 2 for monk splash numbers.

I True Reincarnated one of my clerics into a favored soul recently and decided on the 17/3 split. Most people take an 18/2 route for evasion and feats, but why not take 1 more monk level and be able to cast your own light path buffs? With the self casted aligning the heavens active, maximize becomes cheaper than empower healing, empower healing + quicken becomes cheaper than empower healing alone, you just save a ton of SP.

Currently he sits at level 18, 15/3 split using weighted handwraps for stunning and buffing. With the news of "Whirling Steel Strike," I'm getting more excited about this build as it will allow me to use the favored soul longsword enhancements while still remaining centered for self buffing. In case you haven't seen it:

Whirling Steel Strike
Prereqs: Weapon Focus: Slashing; Proficiency in Longswords, Monk Level 1
Benefit: You treat longswords as if they were monk weapons, remaining centered when you wield them.

Here's the build:

Race: Human
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Path: Harmonious Balance: Light

Level Split: Favored Soul 17 / Monk 3

Starting Stats 32 Point:
STR: 18
DEX: 15
CON: 14
INT: 8
WIS: 8
CHA: 10

Strength based for damage, DEX at minimum required with +2 tome for greater twf. Use a +2 dex tome for GTWF.

Level 20 Stats:
STR: 42 (18 + 5 levels + 2 tome + 6 item + 1 human + 3 ring exceptional + 2 yugo + 2 rage + 1 litany + 2 fire stance)
DEX: 24 (15 + 6 item + 2 tome + 1 litany)
CON: 24 (14 + 6 item + 2 tome + 1 litany + 1 human)
HP: ~500+
SP: ~2100+

Level Progression
1. [Favored Soul] Empower Healing, Extend Spell, Sovereign Host (LS Line)
2. [Monk] Two Weapon Fighting
3. [Monk] Toughness, Weapon Focus Slashing
4. [Favored Soul]
5. [Favored Soul]
6. [Favored Soul] Whirling Steel Strike
7. [Favored Soul]
8. [Favored Soul]
9. [Favored Soul] Improved Two Weapon Fighting
10. [Favored Soul]
11. [Favored Soul]
12. [Favored Soul] Improved Critical: Slashing
13. [Favored Soul]
14. [Favored Soul]
15. [Monkl] Greater Two Weapon Fighting, Light Monk Path
16. [Favored Soul]
17. [Favored Soul]
18. [Favored Soul] Maximize or Quicken
19. [Favored Soul]
20. [Favored Soul]

A build like this is starved for feats, so it's up to the player to decide if they want more damage with greater twf and improved crit, or more metamagic spells.

Skills
Max Concentration
Max UMD

Enhancements
Unyielding Sovereignty
Favored Soul Longsword Specialization I
Human CON I
Human STR I
Human Versatility IV
Human Improved Recovery I
Monk Improved Recovery I
Monk: Void Strike (For new finisher)
Racial Toughness III
Favored Soul Toughness III
Path of the Elegant Crane I
FvS Concentration II
Prayer of Life III
Prayer of Incredible Life III
Life Magic IV
Energy of the Scion III
Wand & Scroll Mastery IV

Advantages:
- You can do everything a light monk can do, plus heal the group
- Very little SP cost on all your spells
- Cannot be stunned in ToD and can auto attack while healing for ki buffs
- Greensteel Longswords: Mineral II, Lightning Strike II, etc.
- Can still equip weighted 5% handwraps in epic to help stun
- Leap of Faith

Disadvantages
- Less Max SP than a pure FvS, though still more than a 20 cleric
- Low Wisdom, no spell casting for crowd control
- Blade Barrier at 50% damage (though 90% of blade barriers in elite/epic will be at 50% with 40+ Wisdom anyway)
- Low # of spells, no level 8 spells
- Feat Starved

[Baahb3]

If you are the primary healer for a group how do you manage to keep up your Align the Heavens?

I confess to not having tried this but I would assume that you don't have a large enough Ki pool to constantly renew it without hitting something and then it still takes a little time to activate it, time that may be needed to heal the party.

Also, does spell casting break your finishing chain? If you hit your water + light, oh someone needs a heal, +water, do you get your finisher or is your chain ruined?

This looks like a very nice solo, small party build but the big benefit of aligning the heavens would be lost after that first minute in a large/raid group when you don't have the time to renew it or build up Ki to reactivate it.

[stainer]

If you are the primary healer for a group how do you manage to keep up your Align the Heavens?

I confess to not having tried this but I would assume that you don't have a large enough Ki pool to constantly renew it without hitting something and then it still takes a little time to activate it, time that may be needed to heal the party.

Also, does spell casting break your finishing chain? If you hit your water + light, oh someone needs a heal, +water, do you get your finisher or is your chain ruined?

This looks like a very nice solo, small party build but the big benefit of aligning the heavens would be lost after that first minute in a large/raid group when you don't have the time to renew it or build up Ki to reactivate it.

He would be able to focus mass heals on himself and cover most of the group while engaged with mobs. It does not take long to build up a bunch of ki. So he would be a bonus to a raid group, especially in ToD, VoD. A healer that can melee and heal, at the same time.

I like this build Eury.

[Baahb3]

He would be able to focus mass heals on himself and cover most of the group while engaged with mobs. It does not take long to build up a bunch of ki. So he would be a bonus to a raid group, especially in ToD, VoD. A healer that can melee and heal, at the same time.

I like this build Eury.

That would work to keep up the Ki pool. Do you know if casting breaks your finishing chain?

[stainer]

That would work to keep up the Ki pool. Do you know if casting breaks your finishing chain?

You will be casting aligning the heavens once a min. Casting does break the chain afiak. I don't think it would hinded anything.

[Gercho]

mass cures, since he wont have mass heal... i think thats the main problem, well and you dont have power attack and maximize for the mass cures (i guess you will take quicken not maximize if you want to heal a party while fighting).

The two feats required to use long swords while centered cost too much for this build...not sure they are worthy... annyone calculated the dps difference between using long swords and handwraps?

[Rabbi_Hordo]

Eury, did you just come up with a Hordo-Proof healer?

[Eurytos]

If you are the primary healer for a group how do you manage to keep up your Align the Heavens?

I confess to not having tried this but I would assume that you don't have a large enough Ki pool to constantly renew it without hitting something and then it still takes a little time to activate it, time that may be needed to heal the party.

Also, does spell casting break your finishing chain? If you hit your water + light, oh someone needs a heal, +water, do you get your finisher or is your chain ruined?

Yes casting breaks chain, but using water > light > water takes 4 seconds. You can easily save the ki and use the chain quickly in between fights or after a big heal. With fire stance and oremi's necklace, you generate 3 ki per swing. 10 hits and you have enough ki for a buff. Maintaining Ki is very easy.

I have a guildie with a very similar builld (17/3 split) and he melees the dragon in Epic VoN6 while healing.

mass cures, since he wont have mass heal... i think thats the main problem, well and you dont have power attack and maximize for the mass cures (i guess you will take quicken not maximize if you want to heal a party while fighting).

The two feats required to use long swords while centered cost too much for this build...not sure they are worthy... annyone calculated the dps difference between using long swords and handwraps?

I hate mass heal. I have a 20 cleric and almost never use it. It takes way too long to cast, and when you do cast it, it almost always over heals. Power attack isn't necessary for a healer. We aren't trying to get the most DPS possible, we're trying to be the main healer while adding minimal DPS (although possibly better than the WIS based monks who claim to be DPS.) If you take maximize instead of quicken, you can use maximize + empower healing + aligning the heavens and do more than enough healing with mass cure light and mass cure moderate. Add noxious embers and you have 100 seconds of free maximize. Mass heal is NEVER required to be a main healer, once again, I hate using it on my 20 cleric.

Quicken while fighting isn't necessary either. If you're in front of the target, you're doing it wrong. Attack from the side or behind and you won't get hit to be interrupted.

Besides, concentration skill will be: 23 ranks + 15 item + 7 con bonus + 2 enhancement + 2 monk buff + 4 greater hero + 2 recitation = 55. Swap Walk of the Sun for the new Void > Light > Void Buff and concentration will hit 58. Swap to Earth stance and you're at 59, +3 con skill eldritch rune and you're at 62. There aren't many mobs that will hit that hard on a single hit. You will bypass concentration on mass cure moderate up to 46 damage before rolling your d20.

At level 3 monk, greensteel longswords will be far superior to handwraps. You could easily drop the 2 feats and stick to handwraps if you so choose. The healing will not be affected but the DPS will be lower. I'm currently playing this build with handwraps (I'm too cheap to make greensteel kamas or I would) and it does fine.