Quote:
Originally Posted by
arashi1822
a Human fighter/rogue ranger. mostly ranger, 1st lvl was thinking fighter to get point blank shot, precise shot, & Precision. as far as rogue was thinking only 1-3 levels of dips.
One of the MOST important parts of a DDO build is "Enhancements", something that no tabletop D&D expert has ever seen, and the predictable pitfall for any new "I design my own!" character designer.
And enhancements are a fairly vast and detailed study - so don't think you can figure them out by surfing the wiki one afternoon over a beer or three. But, just because you have to start somewhere, here they are...
One of the (many!) important things to consider with Enhancements are the "cores", enhancements that come at Class Level (not "Character" level!) 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 20. Some "dips" invite 3 levels to get core 3 in one of those trees, but that then precludes Core 18 in your main class! However, some(!) builds work around that by making due with a strong Core 12, and then having up to 8* levels to dip into 2 other classes - and so the balancing act begins. :cool:
(* Note - If not going to 30, many builds only plan for 18 levels! This is because it's common to stop at 18 and bank experience to level 20. Once the toon has enough XP, they take Level 20 and then farm their 20 Tokens of the Twelve and TR asap - and see those last 2 levels for only the blink of an eye. Ymmv, but it's a consideration.)
Some Cores are strong, some are meh - the central rule, in any build decision - you always have to weigh what you are giving up against what you are gaining by going in a different direction.
With Rogue, you only need 1 level of Rogue to gain "full ranks" in all your Trapping/UMD skills, assuming you have enough Skill Points (via a high Int or a class w/ high Skill Points). A 2nd level of Rogue is often popular for Evasion - however, with Ranger, you get that at Ranger 9 - a bit late in Heroics, but (and especially if going to 30!) considered "good enough". And Ranger has enough Skill Points to carry your skills, so you're not gaining much by going Rogue 2.
Rogue 1/Ranger X also gives you room for 1 more level of something else and still keep your Ranger Core 18 - and both Tempest 18 and Deepwood 18 are pretty strong. This is the basis for the "Tempest Trapmonkey" and "Deepwods Trapmonkey" (ranged version) that you'll find in the link Unbongwah gave you (above).
The last Class dip can vary...
o Barbarian, for +10% kiting speed. Usually taken early, Level 2-4 or so. key to Ranged, very nice for any build (and esp for New Players, to get to a quest and then keep up w/ an experienced party!) Also 1 AP Die Hard for early heroics.
o Fighter - +1 Feat. Often timed when BAB allows a key Feat like Improved Crit. But not every build needs 1 more Feat, or at least (apply the gain/loss rule) doesn't need one as much as they could use something else.
o Wizard - +1 Metamagic Feat (Maximized or Quickened healing) and some "quality of life" spells. Often taken early, so spells like Shield and Jump make the most difference, esp in Reaper. Also 1 AP each for an arcane Cleave attack (if melee) and/or Invisibility.
o Cleric - healing before Ranger Level 8, plus QoL spells. Usually early, Cleric 1 allows use of Cure Moderate Wound wands in early Heroics. Also opens the door for taking Empowered Healing Feat. Usually only on Halflings w/ Dragonmark of Healing. Nightshield for Reaper difficulty.
o Rogue - for early Evasion, Level 2-3. Probably the least popular, and then mostly/only on Dex builds, but an option.
Or, you could go pure ranger (and not trap), and get the Core 18 at Character level 18, and see what the Core 20 (aka "captsone") is like at 20. That build works too.
And, once you read the posted variations, you'll see that "Human" is only 1 option. Elf, Halfling, Drow, even Dwarf are all very doable (as well as Premium races), each w/ different Racial enhancements that can be added, each with their own "loss/gain" trade offs to factor in.
So - for all the above reasons, it's strongly recommended, by most all vet players, that a new (or newly returning!) player does NOT try to "Do it Yourself*" - and instead trusts to a published, forum-approved build. If you want to tweak it, you can - but you have a proven base to start with. That way, you see what works - and you can then spin off from that as you wish, if you wish.
Any customer modifications void the implied warranty, but you do you. :cool:
(* If you accept and welcome "fail" as a likely outcome, then by all means DIY! Play the game, laugh, die, learn - see what doesn't work. Then what does will make more sense. If you want to go that route.You do you, and a haff fun stomin da cassul.)
