Beginner Drow TWF Pally

[IAlwaysLose]

So, trying to make a drow paladin to get to 20 for a true reincarnation. I figure will use longswords simply because I cannot find the feat anywhere for an exotic weapon proficiency, I also figure will respec enhancements at some point once I get past the undead stage and switch to anti-demon/devil/outsider of course. As for UMD, not sure -how- useful it will be but, honestly didn't know where else to put it.

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Level 20 Lawful Good Drow Female
(20 Paladin) 
Hit Points: 282
Spell Points: 235 
BAB: 20\20\25\30\30
Fortitude: 19
Reflex: 16
Will: 17

                  Starting            Ending          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats         Base Stats         Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)          (Level 20)           (Level 20)
Strength             16                 20                   20
Dexterity            16                 17                   17
Constitution         10                 10                   10
Intelligence         12                 12                   12
Wisdom                8                  8                    8
Charisma             16                 16                   19

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 20)
Balance               3                    11
Bluff                 3                     4
Concentration         2                    21
Diplomacy             3                     4
Disable Device        n/a                   n/a
Haggle                3                     4
Heal                 -1                    -1
Hide                  3                     3
Intimidate            3                     4
Jump                  5                     9
Listen               -1                     1
Move Silently         3                     3
Open Lock             n/a                   n/a
Perform               n/a                   n/a
Repair                1                     1
Search                1                     3
Spot                 -1                     1
Swim                  3                     5
Tumble                4                     4
Use Magic Device      5                    15

Level 1 (Paladin)
Skill: Concentration (+2)
Skill: Jump (+2)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+2)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness
Enhancement: Follower of the Sovereign Host
Enhancement: Paladin Devotion I
Enhancement: Paladin Toughness I


Level 2 (Paladin)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Enhancement: Elven Enchantment Resistance I
Enhancement: Paladin Extra Smite Evil I
Enhancement: Paladin Charisma I


Level 3 (Paladin)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Two Weapon Fighting
Enhancement: Paladin Bulwark of Good I
Enhancement: Paladin Resistance of Good I
Enhancement: Paladin Extra Lay on Hands I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I


Level 4 (Paladin)
Ability Raise: DEX
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Enhancement: Paladin Devotion II
Enhancement: Paladin Toughness II


Level 5 (Paladin)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Enhancement: Paladin Extra Smite Evil II
Enhancement: Paladin Extra Turning I
Enhancement: Paladin Improved Turning I


Level 6 (Paladin)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Weapon Fighting
Enhancement: Paladin Hunter of the Dead I


Level 7 (Paladin)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Enhancement: Paladin Charisma II


Level 8 (Paladin)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Enhancement: Paladin Extra Lay on Hands II
Enhancement: Paladin Extra Turning II


Level 9 (Paladin)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Oversized Two Weapon Fighting
Enhancement: Paladin Redemption I


Level 10 (Paladin)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Enhancement: Paladin Improved Turning II


Level 11 (Paladin)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Enhancement: Paladin Charisma III


Level 12 (Paladin)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Weapon Fighting
Enhancement: Paladin Divine Sacrifice I
Enhancement: Paladin Exalted Smite I
Enhancement: Paladin Hunter of the Dead II


Level 13 (Paladin)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Enhancement: Unyielding Sovereignty


Level 14 (Paladin)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Enhancement: Paladin Extra Turning III


Level 15 (Paladin)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Force of Personality
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Paladin Improved Turning III


Level 16 (Paladin)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Enhancement: Paladin Extra Lay on Hands III


Level 17 (Paladin)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Enhancement: Paladin Redemption II
Enhancement: Paladin Devotion III


Level 18 (Paladin)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons
Enhancement: Paladin Hunter of the Dead III


Level 19 (Paladin)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Enhancement: Paladin Redemption III
Enhancement: Paladin Devotion IV


Level 20 (Paladin)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Balance (+1)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Enhancement: Paladin Weapons of Good
Enhancement: Paladin Resistance of Good II

I am assuming I will -eventually- get potions of owls wisdom at around 4'ish for spells, or whichever... or get a +6 wis item eventually when I can afford it for spell casting. To be honest the level 1 spells, not gonna make that big a diff for this build anyways.

[Bacab]

Drow generally use rapiers just so ya know.

Your CON is a lil low...err a lot low...

Anyway I have read a few of your builds and you are getting better at them though.

You seem to want to mix it up in melee and you want to heal yourself/others a bit.

I want to point you in this...
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=279272
direction.

I would suggest the 17Cleric/2Fighter/1barb route.

Go with these stats instead...
STR 16
Dex 15 (eat a +2 Tome or get one from store for TWF)
CON 12
INT 9
WIS 9
CHR 14

Please read that whole thread.

I would maybe even suggest the 2HF route instead of TWF route. It would be easier on stats (especially if you lack 32 point build).

You can tweak the CHR down a little bit and the WIS up a little bit to make it easier.

I plan on rolling this Oct 20 (supposedly update 7 is Oct 20 for VIPs).

U7 *may* be Oct 22 for non-VIPs.

BTW this build would also work pretty well for a Human (just find the STR ya want)

On a battle-cleric build...put STR and CON as the most important stats. You just need enough WIS to cast. Also CHR for Divine Might is nice. You do not need huge (read expensive stats) to make this work.


I hope this helps you a lot.

You coming here first will save you a LOT of heartache down the road.

[FlyingTurtle]

Nice job Bacab, newbie asks for a pally build and you give them a battle cleric.

OP, read this Junt's guide:

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=218542

There's a drow pally build in there.

[karl_k0ch]

FlyingTurtle, you did beat me on that. I was about to post the same thing but then had to walk away from the PC for a while.

OP, I can only recommend to read Junts' guide. Drow are pretty well suited to do a TWF pally.
As Bacab mentioned, Rapier is a pretty nice choice for a Drow because it has a very good crit range and Drow get racial bonuses for these weapons. (Taking IC: Pierce then, of course.)

UMD is a good choice since, as a pally, you have a high Cha score, with which it will be easy to boost your UMD to the lower 20s even if you only have 11 ranks in it.

Imho, Jump and Concentration are not needed that much, but Balance might be another nice point sink besides UMD.

I'd rather use a +1 dex tome in order to qualify for itwf rather than spending a level up into it.

Nice job Bacab, newbie asks for a pally build and you give them a battle cleric.

To be precise, he asks for a 0th reincarnation drow build, but is given a twice TR'd Horc.

[IAlwaysLose]

I've read Junt's post, and I just dislike rapiers, doesn't fit my image. And it's a Drow, it's going to have low Constitution regardless. Also for rapiers I don't really see the point, undead are immune to crit anyways so the increased range isn't that useful over the D8. Also slashing seems to be a bit better than piercing against anything skeletal.

I have a VIP account, so will get it whenever, I do not however, have access to 32 point builds. Thus, Drow is the best race available to me for the most part so I am trying to find builds that can feasibly use it. As for the hp, I don't think 282 is that low for completely unbuffed with zero gear and zero con items or tomes. A +2 tome and a +6 item will add an additional 80 hp to put it at 362, not counting any items that just add raw hp, or buffs from other things.

I did take a lot from Junt's guide, which is why I have such a low wisdom to start (In PnP I always went with 14 wis minimum for a paladin/ranger just to make sure I could cast every spell I got from the get go.) but... heck... got to start somewhere. I think all these 32/34/36 builds I see all over aren't really that helpful for a person like me since they're unavailable.

I started with a human cleric, 18 wis, 16 strength, yadda yadda sword and board, 30 AC at level 3 with a +1 bastard sword of pure good and even though I heal and don't let people die I'm still having trouble finding harbor groups, it's wierd.

[FlyingTurtle]

I've read Junt's post, and I just dislike rapiers, doesn't fit my image. And it's a Drow, it's going to have low Constitution regardless. Also for rapiers I don't really see the point, undead are immune to crit anyways so the increased range isn't that useful over the D8. Also slashing seems to be a bit better than piercing against anything skeletal.

You're planning to level to 20 fighting ONLY undead? O_O

I was wrong. Bacab was right, roll a cleric.

Anyway, if you're allergic to rapiers, use shortswords. It'll be gimp but much less gimp than longswords and it will at least save you a feat on OTWF.

A better option is to find a feat to go Khopesh with. Powergaming-wise, it's a waste of a feat on a drow, but, you gotta do what makes you happy.

[Bacab]

Step One:
Click on the OP's name...

Step Two:
Click on "Find all threads started by IAlwaysLose"...

Step Three:
Read a few of those...

The re-occurring theme in his threads/builds is decent melee mixed in with self-healing and the ability to self-buff and possibly help heal others.

I posted Nick's Battle-Cleric because I think it has the "flavor" he desires. He will do well in the Harbor and Marketplace. He will also continue to do well later on. This is key because many builds "excel" up to level 10...then fall apart.

I also showed him how to convert the Battle Cleric to a 32 Point (lower STR to 16) or even a 28 Point Build (use 2 handed fighting).

He could also make that Cleric build a Human if he desired.

I wanted to give him the "clickies" he desires such as...
*Sprint Boost from Barb
*Fighter Haste Boost
*Divine Favor
*Divine Power
*Healing

Also it allows him the mobility he seems to desire...
*Barb Movement
*Sprint Boost (again)

The OP seems to want to multi-class and try something "new".

The OP seems to bore of standard melee (otherwise roll a 20 Fighter or a 20 Barb).

I just felt this was catering to his desires rather than a single build.

[karl_k0ch]

I've read Junt's post, and I just dislike rapiers, doesn't fit my image. And it's a Drow, it's going to have low Constitution regardless. Also for rapiers I don't really see the point, undead are immune to crit anyways so the increased range isn't that useful over the D8. Also slashing seems to be a bit better than piercing against anything skeletal.

You will not only fight undead. Against Skellies, blunt weapons are the way to go. Slashers are just as bad as Piercers. Against Zombies, Slashing weapons are nice indeed.
Against everyone else, Critical Smites and Divine Righteousnesses make any Pally happy. And only one the Racial Enhancement for Rapiers will increase the base damage to 1D6+1, which is on average the same as 1D8.

[IAlwaysLose]

At -NO- point did I say I would level to 20 fighting only undead. I in fact, pointed out that I would switch the Undead Hunter for KotB at a later date when it became feasible and beneficial to do so. I am NOT planning to take this character into epic raids, or expect to be an 'End Game' player because, honestly, it's a frikken game and I am not looking for something min maxed to hell and back. Why? Because I don't really know anyone yet, and I just have this sinking feeling that random guild invites by people I've never even talked to is not a good way to find a great guild of people I will get along with.

That said: I like variety, and I like versatility. I like classes and combinations that bring more than click the mouse button a whole bunch while trying to stay in range (And they REALLY need to improve the mobility feat, god that thing sucks). This is why I am not keen on doing a pure cleric either, because I do NOT want to be relegated into a healbot role for 20 levels either.

So, let's get that whole "What will be effective at epic raids" thing out of the way, I am not looking for epic raids, I am looking to get to 1750 favor to unlock 32 point builds -and- get to 20 so I can true reincarnate and get 34 point builds going.

I am looking at Drow because generally, they seem to have the most bang for their buck when dealing with 28 point builds. I don't care if I do not have 600 hp's cuz the char won't see content that needs it with this character.

But yes, I am posting up a lot of builds because I am trying to find something that will appeal to my playstyle, that can level at a decent clip, and get me access to stuff and money so I can actually -think- about trying to make a min-max char to -do- the epic raids and suchlike with.

[unbongwah]

You don't need Concentration but you do need HPs; I would do CON 12 INT 10, max ranks in Balance & UMD.

Ideally, I would plan around a +1 DEX tome before lvl 6 (for ITWF / GTWF) and a +3 CHA tome by level cap. That way you put your first four level-ups into STR and your final one into CHA so your base stats end up 20 / 17 / 12 / 10 / 8 / 20 at lvl 20. This will let you take Divine Might IV at lvl 20. You could plan around a +4 CHA tome, but those are incredibly rare; +3 is a more realistic endgame goal, IMHO.

As mentioned, TWF drow paladins usually go for rapiers because of the racial enhs. If you're not going rapiers or khopeshes, I recommend scimitars over longswords for their higher crit range. Whichever weapon you go with, I would take Improved Crit at lvl 9; that's way more important than OTWF, esp. for a paladin.

You definitely should take Power Attack, probably at lvl 15 or 18. For your other feat, I would take Extend.

[Kourier]

Drow already get 10 int, dex, and cha anyway... I don't see how you could have 9, so don't put the build point in. And remember: CON IS NOT A DUMP STAT! It's a good idea to have at least 12.

You said twf?

You could do:

16 str
16 dex
12 con
10 int
8 wis
16 cha

put the first level up into dex, and grab a +3/+4 wis item as soon as possible so you can cast. Honestly, rapiers are the better idea, but longswords will work. No tomes needed.

(So feats would look something like twf, toughness, itwf, ic slash or pierce, extend, gtwf, power attack in some order)

[k1ngp1n]

TWF Pallies tend to have to-hit issues, especially mid level. A drow wielding a rapier will not only have a +2 to-hit advantage, but also an extra +1 to damage vs a longsword, in addition to the rapier's extra crit range. If you are determined to go longsword, feel free. But a drow wielding rapiers is intensely superior to a drow wielding longswords across all areas and levels of play. For those targets that are resistant to piercing, you'll switch out. But to build the character for that.... Oi.

Ultimately its your choice and your play, and I encourage you to have fun. But a TWF longsword paladin is a long road, indeed.

[karl_k0ch]

TWF Pallies tend to have to-hit issues, especially mid level. A drow wielding a rapier will not only have a +2 to-hit advantage, but also an extra +1 to damage vs a longsword, in addition to the rapier's extra crit range.

And if the to-hit is still an issue, a short sword as an off-hand weapon comes to my mind. These are light weapons, and the get benefits from the Drow Melee Racial Enhancements. Provided 2+ AP, this even makes Short Swords a better weapon than Long Swords.

[elujin]

you can use otwf for leveling and switch it out later

[NaturalHazard]

Um is one advantage of rapiers over longswords not only do you get the racial enhancements with drow....... the increased threat range means the burst properties go off more? so even if its a crit immune mob you still do some more damage to it say if your holy burst is going off more?