Triple A - Arcane Archer/Assassin 11/7/2

[Flowstone]

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Trickyshot 
Level 20 Lawful Neutral Elf Male
(2 Monk \ 7 Rogue \ 11 Ranger) 
Hit Points: 206
Spell Points: 305 
BAB: 17\17\22\27\27
Fortitude: 14
Reflex: 25
Will: 12

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(32 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             14                    16
Dexterity            17                    30
Constitution         12                    14
Intelligence         14                    16
Wisdom               14                    18
Charisma              8                    10

Tomes Used
+2 Tome of Strength used at level 7
+2 Tome of Dexterity used at level 7
+2 Tome of Constitution used at level 7
+2 Tome of Intelligence used at level 7
+2 Tome of Wisdom used at level 7
+2 Tome of Charisma used at level 7
+3 Tome of Dexterity used at level 20
+3 Tome of Wisdom used at level 20

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 20)
Balance               7                    21
Bluff                 3                    25
Concentration         1                     2
Diplomacy             3                    19
Disable Device        6                    26
Haggle               -1                     0
Heal                  2                     4
Hide                  7                    36
Intimidate           -1                     0
Jump                  5                     7
Listen                2                     7
Move Silently         7                    36
Open Lock             7                    33
Perform              n/a                    n/a
Repair                2                     3
Search                6                    28
Spot                  2                     6
Swim                  2                     3
Tumble                4                    11
Use Magic Device      3                    23

Level 1 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Point Blank Shot
Enhancement: Rogue Damage Boost I
Enhancement: Rogue Haste Boost I
Enhancement: Elven Ranged Damage I


Level 2 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Undead
Enhancement: Aerenal Elf Melee Damage I
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Damage I
Enhancement: Rogue Faster Sneaking I


Level 3 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Weapon Focus: Ranged Weapons
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity I
Enhancement: Ranger Dexterity I


Level 4 (Ranger)
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training I
Enhancement: Rogue Hide I
Enhancement: Rogue Move Silently I


Level 5 (Ranger)


Level 6 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Evil Outsider
Feat: (Selected) Mental Toughness


Level 7 (Ranger)


Level 8 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Aerenal Elf Melee Damage II
Enhancement: Elven Ranged Damage II
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer I
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Accuracy I
Enhancement: Ranger Dexterity II


Level 9 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Oversized Two Weapon Fighting
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Weapon Finesse
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity II


Level 10 (Ranger)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Force Arrows


Level 11 (Rogue)


Level 12 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Ranged Weapons
Enhancement: Rogue Damage Boost II
Enhancement: Rogue Haste Boost II
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Acid Arrows
Enhancement: Rogue Subtle Backstabbing I
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +2 Arrows
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training II
Enhancement: Rogue Hide II


Level 13 (Ranger)
Enhancement: Rogue Move Silently II


Level 14 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Explosive Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +3 Arrows
Enhancement: Rogue Faster Sneaking II


Level 15 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Combat Expertise
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Piercing Weapons
Enhancement: Way of the Faithful Hound I
Enhancement: Monk Wisdom I


Level 16 (Ranger)


Level 17 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Force Burst Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Terror Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +4 Arrows
Enhancement: Rogue Assassin I
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Accuracy II


Level 18 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Construct
Feat: (Selected) Improved Feint
Enhancement: Ranger Dexterity III


Level 19 (Ranger)


Level 20 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Rogue Haste Boost III
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Slaying Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +5 Arrows
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training III

I'll explain my reasoning for choices and all helpful comments are welcome

This build is attempting to fill a role of trap/lock monkey, ranged and melee dps and still have good solo ability. Sure I could remove the solo ability and the ranged dps for more pure melee dps which has been discussed ad nuaseum as being superior but where is the utility in those builds? In group combat the Triple A can (when directed by the leader): commence a bluff pull, reposition a boss, crowd control (Improved precise paralysing shots etc) and kill off those mobs perched on areas not easily reached by melee. This build will do ranged dps when Manyshot is active and melee dps when Manyshot is on cooldown. Note: this is a Dexterity build with Weapon Finesse and dual-rapiers as the primary melee weapons.

Why Level 11 Ranger:

At level 11 you get Precise shot, Improved precise shot, Greater two-weapon fighting, 1x3rd level spell. Going higher levels in ranger will improve your BAB, gain favoured enemies/damage, give Hide In Plain Sight, more ranger spells and spell points, and the capstone - 25% increase in ranged attack speed. But if you want more utility in relation to skills (traps, locks, diplomacy, UMD and bluff) you need to stop at some point in ranger levels. The rogue sneak attacks +2 (hit), +5d6+9 (damage) on ranged (in 30 feet) and melee, 25% attack speed rogue haste boost (range and melee), and the assassin melee abilities help compensate for the loss in dps. Also the swapping from ranged and melee combat does reduce the significance of the ranger capstone.

I see similar (non-tempest) builds that go to level 12 ranger so I want to discuss this point in particular. The gain at level 12 is +1 Natural Armour in relation to the Barkskin spell, +1 BAB (only if a additional level in another class doesn't give this as well), +1 to saves (only if a additional level in another class doesn't give this as well), 1 3rd level spell (I only really like the Cure Moderate Wounds, the rest are nice but I wouldn't miss them) and 15 spell points.
If I was to lose 1 level of monk to get 1 level of ranger I would gain 15 spell points and a 3rd level spell; and would lose a Martial Arts Feat, -1 AC when Barkskin is not active and lose access to some enhancements (+1 Monk Wisdom and Way of the Faithful Hound). The level 12 ranger enhancements don't interest me, in fact I didn't even select their respective pre-req enhancements.
If I was to lose 1 level of rogue to get 1 level of ranger I would gain +1 sav to Fort and Will, 15 spell points and a 3rd level spell; and would lose +1d6 sneak attack, some real nice enhancements that give +5% temp attack speed and +3 sneak attack damage (Rogue Haste Boost III and Rogue Sneak Attack Training III), and better use of and 2 more skill points.

Why Level 2 Monk:

Just a splash of this class to gain most importantly 2 extra feats. Some go for the fighter class for 2 extra feats. The choice in fighter classes would have given me mainly (for this dex build) more freedom to which feats I could choose, +1 Fighter Strength enhancement, +2 to hit fighter attack boost, +2 to confirm criticals (fighter critical accuracy), +2 AC Fighter Armour class boost (note: as enhancements these may or maynot be taken), and +1BAB. The choice in monk class gives me are + Wis bonus AC (unarmored), +2 to melee hit flanked opponent (Way of the Faithful hound), level 2 +1 AC, +3 to all saves, +1 Monk Wisdom, better skill point selection/number, and quick robe changing depending on the situation being unarmored (don't underestimate this it is very useful). My choice is Monk rather than Fighter; I feel Monk just edges ahead with saves, skill point selection, and AC. Note though, as commented by more experienced players, in Epic, a higher AC doesn't count for much in terms of taking damage.

Why Level 7 Rogue:

First and foremost, the rogue class is taken for its skill base and points gained per level. The skill advantage of taking rogue at 1st level is huge. The sneak attack damage, haste boost help increase ranged and melee dps also the assassin abilities help melee dps. The sneak attack damage only works if you are within 30 feet of your target so this is an important point to keep in mind.

Feats:

Most are self-explanatory, Combat Expertise and Improved Feint were taken for solo ability, if you don't like these feats I would suggest Toughness and Power Attack.

Enhancements:

Not much room to change because of the arcane archer and assassin requirements. Rogue faster sneaking could be easily replaced, it was once again taken for solo ability

[grodon9999]

I'm doing the same when i TR my elf but 12/7/1. 12 ranger gets you full barskin and prot/resist energy.

[GhoulsTouch]

Hey if you are bored Make up a Deepwoods Assassin II, one shot one kill. 1 monk ,6 ranger, 13 rogue.
As a challenge see if you can do it as a strength based Zen archer to make the most of bowstrength.

[Flowstone]

Thanks for the comment guys

grodon9999, losing 1 level of Monk you lose -1 AC, so the gain of +1 AC when using barkskin is a bit redundant. Resist Energy Spell caps at level 11, Protection from Energy Spell caps at level 10 so there is no addtional benefit of going from level 11 to level 12 ranger for these 2 spells; as for the ranger resist enhancements they require at maximum level 10 ranger.

[GhoulsTouch]

http://compendium.ddo.com/wiki/Enhancement:Assassinate is that halo?

Many shot sneak attacks, 3 shots x 7D6 , plus strength ,plus sneak attack bonuses from enhancements, plus damage modifiers from bow and arrows...can easily do one shot one kill especially with crits since the crit multiplier from DA is increased by one.

[Flowstone]

GhoulsTouch, Sorry.... I really thought you were joking :P

The new feat Zen Archery uses your wisdom modifier rather than you strength modifier to hit with a ranged weapon, they don't combine. So a "strength based Zen Archer" didn't make sense, and hence I thought you were just messing with me, unless you are referring to a build someone named "Zen Archer"

You're right, you would increase your sneak attack damage by +4d6+3, sneak attack hit by +1, Haste Boost +5% (if you also take the relevant enhancements), Uncanny dodge, Improved uncanny dodge, assassinate (real nice melee attack), 2x rogue special abilities (must admit these are very nice indeed), much better skill points/usage, and Deepwood Sniper: Sniper Shot. But at the cost of Precise shot, Improved precise shot, Greater two-weapon fighting, - 2 BAB, loss of 2nd and 3rd level spells, loss of 105 spell points, loss of Arcane archer (if taking Deepwood), -2 to melee hit flanked, loss of +1 Monk wisdom, -1 AC from level 2 monk, -1 Martial Arts Feat. They become quite different and too difficult to compare, like apples and oranges. A 13 rogue/6 ranger/1 monk does sound like an interesting build to make.

[GhoulsTouch]

Yeah normally dex is for the attack bonus for ranged so it makes perfect sense. I also forgot about the extra 2d6 from assassin II so SA would be 9D6 with 3 arrows so 27D6. The Critical multiplier is increased from DA so then if you crit on all three arrows you are looking at 27D6 X 3. (this is not including weapon or strength bonuses) So a maximum of 486 from a critical sneak attack alone.

High strength for bowstrength and to cut in with melee sneak attacks and assassination attempts.

I was thinking Str, Wis, Int, Con as primary stats. Maybe not even Zen archery, I was just thinking higher AC and will save might be good for a rogue.

[supp3nhuhn]

I think sneak attacks aren't subject to crits.
Zen archery is useless because you still need dex as prerequisite for the bow skills and (elven) rangers (who get the skills without prereq) have a very easy time increasing dex.

Also assassin 1 isn't really very good, maybe you could switch to monk 6/ rogue 3 and take ninja spy.
Would cost you 2d6 + 6 SA damage but allow you to use shortswords while being centered and free up a feat because you wouldn't need otwf anymore as well as granting another martial arts feat and allowing you to get sneak attacks while having aggro with unbalancing strike.

You also should still be able to max your trap skills and umd.

/edit
Also i'd pick clever monkey instead of faithful hound because you shouldn't have any trouble hitting flanked opponents, whereas a bonus to trapsave is always welcome and a bit more elemental resistance isn't bad either.

/edit #2
You might also want to pick up the rogue trapsave enhancements for trapsmithing espcially since you don't have improved evasion so a failed save most likely is lethal on higher difficulties.

[Xyzima]

GhoulsTouch, Sorry.... I really thought you were joking :P

The new feat Zen Archery uses your wisdom modifier rather than you strength modifier to hit with a ranged weapon, they don't combine. So a "strength based Zen Archer" didn't make sense, and hence I thought you were just messing with me, unless you are referring to a build someone named "Zen Archer"

comletely wrong on this point. Bow str is str to bow damage. untill zen archer it was ONLY dex to attacks. Now having the option for wisdom.

now you still need dex 19 for improved precise shot and its pretty easy for an elf to get that. and you improve reflex instead of will. and with monk wis - ac, it equals out kinda.