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[Maelodic]

I have a request for a hybrid specialist- somebody who is specced in both bows/ranged and melee. I'm more looking for a playstyle rather than specific build, so I'll try to describe it as best as I can.

The skill set of this character would depend on the quest:

Any quests:
Sneaking should be quick and I should have a decent pool of self heals and tools to take on any challenge. Blue bar before scrolls and potions should be priority.
While the character will be mostly SA based, they shouldn't be useless against the undead or other 100% fort enemies.
I want to avoid dying and hirelings.
Healing shouldn't be a huge deal- I should be able to do it, but I shouldn't have to need it a whole lot. (An idea I've used for this before is that the Halfling Dragonmark Line in enhancements also gives you the exact amount you need to get the full guile line)

Harder Quests - Solo:
Sneak+Assassian based- picking off the enemies one-by-one either with a bow or melee.
Bow and melee should both have tools to quickly dispatch single opponents- one shotting would be the best but that's not really all that possible without full ****** Rogue assassinate or a critted slaying arrow both of which require heavy specialization, so I'm being realistic here.
If I am caught, I shouldn't die instantly and should have the tools to quickly dispatch groups. Haste boost works pretty well from my observation, but other tools are cool too.
I'm noticed that the most reliable tool for taking down individual enemies or high profile enemies is exposing strike. 4 seconds of sneak attack with TWF and tons of doublestrike is really, really powerful. As bluff tends to work only half the time, I would much prefer to spam this gem than anything else.

Killing bosses quicker than they can kill me will be the key with harder quests- with bursts of defense for when I get caught.

Easier Quests - Solo:
Run around with my bow shootin people until they dare get close enough to taste my blades, when they will promptly discover that my blades hurt a whole lot more than my bow.
Being versatile as well as feeling fricken awesome in my versatility will be key here. Constant movement, attack, and true moments of glory.

Party Quests/Raids:
Ways to drop threat and assassinate from a distance or melee- being versatile and keeping the assassin aspects are important here. I want to feel like a specialist here- taking out targets that are usually either left for last, ignored, or high profile- as well as being able to scout ahead and take out some targets if needed.

Optional Awesomeness (Not required but I would love if this was included):
Halfling
Traps
Master or Grandmaster Stances+Pajamas
Tons of speed- sneaking and otherwise (Sprint boost does not work with stealth, but the 50% sneak speed enhancements stack, so that's something to consider)

Restrictions:
34 Point Ranger TR with limited gear- I don't really have access to +5 tomes or anything along those lines.
Soloing a lot.

What information I'm looking for:
Optimal build to play this playstyle- Feats/Stat Points/Focuses/Enhancements/Equipment I should be looking out for. (I really do not know how to find good stealth equips)
ED ideas and options.
If all else, help with bouncing ideas- I know quite a bit but I have no idea how to pull it off. Pure Ranger does okay, but spreads himself really thin in enhancements and a multi-class may be able to do it better.

[lord_kagato1]

I'm new to the game and I spent some TR to get both Drow and Artificer. I'm thinking of playing a ranged attack with a heavy repeating crossbow. I'm planning on doing alot of playing solo until I find a guild that will have me. Any ideas what I should be making for him?

[Panpiper]

I have a request for a hybrid specialist- somebody who is specced in both bows/ranged and melee. I'm more looking for a playstyle rather than specific build

I have similar ambitions for my next life. I intend to spend a lot of time doing this particular TR, intending to slowly solo every last quest at length till I learn them. While I am not adverse to having a cleric hireling with me (I actually intend to have one), I want for the character to have alternate means of healing in case that goes awry. The ability to handle traps is paramount for me, but so too is the need to be able to handle boss fights in melee range. The ability to engage from range however is also crucial for tactical reasons like pulling, archer ambushes and boss softening. Also utterly crucial is that the build plan be fun to play and able to do everything needed at every level during the leveling process. This is NOT intended to be a leveling plan for some uber epic build that only really shines when the plan is complete.

The choice frankly is obvious to me, with EllisDee's Tempest Trapmonkey for new players being the published variant that is closest to my needs. Personally though I feel it is perhaps not ideal given that I am in most solo circumstances willing to have a hireling, and so going for 18 levels of ranger so as to get a piddling few extra spell points and Cure Serious Wounds is a huge sacrifice for little gain. Also, if you can come up with a +2 intelligence tome by level 12, you can keep the essential trapping skills maxed even with just the paltry skill points of a fighter (if playing human).

A plan I might suggest for a 34 point build would be as follows:

Human
Str 18
Dex 14
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 8
Char 8
All leveling stat points go to strength.

1 Rogue, Power Attack, Cleave
2 Ranger, Favored Enemy: Undead
3 Ranger, Point Blank Shot
4 Ranger
5 Ranger
6 Ranger, Great Cleave, Favored Enemy:Giants
7 Ranger
8 Ranger
9 Ranger, Improved Critical (favorite melee weapon type)
10 Ranger
11 Ranger, Favored Enemy: Evil Outsider
12 Ranger, Improved Critical (Ranged)
13 Fighter, Dodge
14 Fighter, Power Critical
15 Fighter, Weapon Focus (favorite weapon type)
16 Fighter, Weapon Specialization (favorite weapon type)
17 Fighter
18 Fighter, Toughness, Precision
19 Fighter
20 Fighter, Greater Weapon Focus (favorite weapon type)

This allows you to develop the full panoply of rogue and stealth skills up to level 12 whereupon you will have gotten all the two weapon fighting feats for free from ranger, and maintain trapping skills after. Going eight levels of fighter at the end gives you the option of going to the tier five rank of kensei at that point should you choose, in addition to whatever cool ranger stuff you've picked up by then. If you want to keep stealth skills maximized as well, forgo tier five kensei and mix in a couple or more of extra rogue levels (which would also give you extra sneak attack dice). Any other class really could be developed in these last eight levels (like a total of 5 levels of rogue and 3 levels of paladin, plus 1 extra level of ranger for optimum save throws, dropping starting strength down to 16 and buying charisma to 14).

For maximum effect (till they plug the bug), stay with your current ranger life just long enough to earn three levels in epic destinies, most specifically at least one in Primal Avatar, picking up Rejuvenation Cocoon. You will have earned a fate point allowing you to twist in one tier one epic talent, which you ought make that Rejuvenation Cocoon. The spell points gotten from ranger will go far if being used for heals with Rejuvenation Cocoon.

Check out the enhancement plan from Tempest Trapmonkey for some very interesting ideas. Of course if one goes for tier five kensei, one would have to cherry pick from the Tempest Trapmonkey enhancement plan. It is also perfectly feasible to stay with the Tempest Trapmonkey enhancement plan identically, and none the less level up in fighter for the extra HP and feats. The original Tempest Trapmonkey plan takes the extremely nice "Evasive Dance" tier five ability in tempest.

[Maelodic]

I have similar ambitions for my next life. I intend to spend a lot of time doing this particular TR, intending to slowly solo every last quest at length till I learn them. While I am not adverse to having a cleric hireling with me (I actually intend to have one), I want for the character to have alternate means of healing in case that goes awry. The ability to handle traps is paramount for me, but so too is the need to be able to handle boss fights in melee range. The ability to engage from range however is also crucial for tactical reasons like pulling, archer ambushes and boss softening. Also utterly crucial is that the build plan be fun to play and able to do everything needed at every level during the leveling process. This is NOT intended to be a leveling plan for some uber epic build that only really shines when the plan is complete.

The choice frankly is obvious to me, with EllisDee's Tempest Trapmonkey for new players being the published variant that is closest to my needs. Personally though I feel it is perhaps not ideal given that I am in most solo circumstances willing to have a hireling, and so going for 18 levels of ranger so as to get a piddling few extra spell points and Cure Serious Wounds is a huge sacrifice for little gain. Also, if you can come up with a +2 intelligence tome by level 12, you can keep the essential trapping skills maxed even with just the paltry skill points of a fighter (if playing human).

A plan I might suggest for a 34 point build would be as follows:

Human
Str 18
Dex 14
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 8
Char 8
All leveling stat points go to strength.

1 Rogue, Power Attack, Cleave
2 Ranger, Favored Enemy: Undead
3 Ranger, Point Blank Shot
4 Ranger
5 Ranger
6 Ranger, Great Cleave, Favored Enemy:Giants
7 Ranger
8 Ranger
9 Ranger, Improved Critical (favorite melee weapon type)
10 Ranger
11 Ranger, Favored Enemy: Evil Outsider
12 Ranger, Improved Critical (Ranged)
13 Fighter, Dodge
14 Fighter, Power Critical
15 Fighter, Weapon Focus (favorite weapon type)
16 Fighter, Weapon Specialization (favorite weapon type)
17 Fighter
18 Fighter, Toughness, Precision
19 Fighter
20 Fighter, Greater Weapon Focus (favorite weapon type)

This allows you to develop the full panoply of rogue and stealth skills up to level 12 whereupon you will have gotten all the two weapon fighting feats for free from ranger, and maintain trapping skills after. Going eight levels of fighter at the end gives you the option of going to the tier five rank of kensei at that point should you choose, in addition to whatever cool ranger stuff you've picked up by then. If you want to keep stealth skills maximized as well, forgo tier five kensei and mix in a couple or more of extra rogue levels (which would also give you extra sneak attack dice). Any other class really could be developed in these last eight levels (like a total of 5 levels of rogue and 3 levels of paladin, plus 1 extra level of ranger for optimum save throws, dropping starting strength down to 16 and buying charisma to 14).

For maximum effect (till they plug the bug), stay with your current ranger life just long enough to earn three levels in epic destinies, most specifically at least one in Primal Avatar, picking up Rejuvenation Cocoon. You will have earned a fate point allowing you to twist in one tier one epic talent, which you ought make that Rejuvenation Cocoon. The spell points gotten from ranger will go far if being used for heals with Rejuvenation Cocoon.

Check out the enhancement plan from Tempest Trapmonkey for some very interesting ideas. Of course if one goes for tier five kensei, one would have to cherry pick from the Tempest Trapmonkey enhancement plan. It is also perfectly feasible to stay with the Tempest Trapmonkey enhancement plan identically, and none the less level up in fighter for the extra HP and feats. The original Tempest Trapmonkey plan takes the extremely nice "Evasive Dance" tier five ability in tempest.

Sorry, that's not really what I would be looking for- I'm trying to fit in some sort of high melee burst damage as well with an emphasis on sneaking and assassian type characteristics.

[unbongwah]

I'm new to the game and I spent some TR to get both Drow and Artificer. I'm thinking of playing a ranged attack with a heavy repeating crossbow.

Drow ranged arty builds are pretty straight-forward. There are really only three question marks:

• Pure or multiclassed? Staying pure lets you take one of the capstones; I think Arcane Empowerment is a bit better than Master Engineer, but either gives you +2 INT. Multiclassing lets you add more feats and/or Evasion; a rog or monk 2 splash is pretty common for arties.
• Do you take Construct Essence? The advantage is it lets you self-repair on a fleshie arty; the drawback is you take -25% penalty to all positive energy heals. I'm not a fan of it; other people are. My suggestion would be to take it early on to give yourself some self-sufficiency; then swap it out once your UMD is high enough for CCW wands & Heal scrolls.
• Do you invest in caster DPS? U19 added a bunch of SLAs to the Arcanotechnician tree, which means arties finally have something other than Blade Barrier & TacDet to play with in later levels. But the downsides are: (A) they all cap at CL:10 (so their DPS doesn't scale well in epics); (B) they're all Reflex-based, which means if your DCs aren't up to snuff, mobs w/Evasion take no dmg; (C) they're all lightning-based, which means against mobs w/electric resistances you're stuck w/BB&TD; and (D) arties don't get the deep SP pools nor can hit the DCs of a good sorc or wiz build. As AtomicMew points out, relying on the arty lightning SLAs is like having all the drawbacks of being an Air Savant with none of the perks.

Here's a sample build to give you some ideas: pure arty, ranged-focused, but with a strong caster DPS component.

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 04.19.01
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 28 True Neutral Drow Female
(20 Artificer \ 8 Epic) 
Hit Points: 276
Spell Points: 339 
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 8
Reflex: 12
Will: 11

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 28)
Strength              8                     8
Dexterity            17                    22
Constitution         14                    14
Intelligence         18                    26
Wisdom                8                     8
Charisma             10                    10

Tomes Used
+2 Tome of Intelligence used at level 7
+2 Tome of Dexterity used at level 15
+3 Tome of Dexterity used at level 20

Level 1 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Point Blank Shot


Level 2 (Artificer)


Level 3 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Construct Essence (swap for Toughness later)


Level 4 (Artificer)
Ability Raise: INT
Feat: (Artificer Bonus) Precise Shot


Level 5 (Artificer)


Level 6 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Precision


Level 7 (Artificer)


Level 8 (Artificer)
Ability Raise: INT
Feat: (Artificer Bonus) Rapid Shot


Level 9 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Maximize Spell


Level 10 (Artificer)


Level 11 (Artificer)


Level 12 (Artificer)
Ability Raise: INT
Feat: (Selected) Heighten Spell
Feat: (Artificer Bonus) Improved Critical: Ranged Weapons


Level 13 (Artificer)


Level 14 (Artificer)


Level 15 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Spell Focus: Evocation


Level 16 (Artificer)
Feat: (Artificer Bonus) Improved Precise Shot


Level 17 (Artificer)


Level 18 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Focus: Evocation


Level 19 (Artificer)


Level 20 (Artificer)
Ability Raise: DEX
Feat: (Artificer Bonus) Empower Spell
Enhancement: Drow - Spell Resistance (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Drow - Drow Intelligence (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Drow - Spell Resistance (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Drow - Drow Dexterity (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Arcanotechnician (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Palliative Admixture (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Thaumaturgical Battery (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Lightning Bolt (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Static Shock (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Static Shock (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Static Shock (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Spell Critical (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Spell Critical (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Shocking Vulnerability (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Shocking Vulnerability (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Shocking Vulnerability (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Lightning Sphere (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Lightning Sphere (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Lightning Sphere (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Spell Critical (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Intelligence (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Blast Rod (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Blast Rod (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Blast Rod (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Spell Critical (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Intelligence (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Battle Engineer (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Infused Weapons (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Infused Armor (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Infused Weapons (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Infused Armor (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Master Engineer (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Crossbow Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Thermal Venting (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Thermal Venting (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Thermal Venting (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Crossbow Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Damage Boost (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Damage Boost (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Damage Boost (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Thaumaturgical Conduits (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Thaumaturgical Conduits (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Thaumaturgical Conduits (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Crossbow Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Extra Action Boost (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Arcane Capacitors (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Intelligence (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Crossbow Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Rune Arm Overcharge (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Arcane Capacitors (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Intelligence (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Weapon Attachment (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Rune Arm Overcharge (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Tactical Mobility (Rank 1)


Level 21 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Combat Archery


Level 22 (Artificer)


Level 23 (Artificer)


Level 24 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Epic Spell Focus: Evocation


Level 25 (Artificer)


Level 26 (Artificer)


Level 27 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Blinding Speed


Level 28 (Artificer)

A few comments:

• The +2 INT tome is nice but not necessary. OTOH, the +2 DEX tome is necessary to qualify for IPS and the +3 upgrade tome (+1 lvl-up) is necessary for CA. Worst-case scenario, you Favor-farm until you hit 1750 to unlock Champion and earn your free +2 tome. EDIT: you can also take ESF:Evo @ lvl 21 and delay CA until lvl 24, giving you more time to pull or buy a +3 upgrade.
• If you decide to drop the lightning SLAs, you can swap Heighten for something else, like Quicken or Insightful Reflexes.
• Builder's still a big bugged; one of the ED feats is Doubleshot; the other ED feat is up to you. EDIT: this requires making your way over to the Primal Sphere ASAP and maxing out two EDs; I recommend Shiradi & FotW, with a pit stop in Primal Avatar to pick up Rejuv Cocoon.
• I didn't list skills, but I would definitely max Concentration, Disable, Open Lock, Repair, Spellcraft, Search, Spot, and UMD. Any leftover pts can go into, say, Haggle or Balance. EDIT: if you're really planning ahead, max ranks in Heal to boost Rejuv Cocoon when you pick it up someday.
• If you want a rog splash, the first lvl should be at the beginning; the second can go wherever you like / want Evasion. If you want a monk splash, use the bonus feats to take Precision & Toughness (or maybe Dodge).

[unbongwah]

I have a request for a hybrid specialist- somebody who is specced in both bows/ranged and melee.

Caveat: this is mostly theory-crafting on my part. In particular, I haven't had a chance to mess with DWS much yet, so I haven't figured out what's cool and what's not.

Still, my idea is to take my Triple A build and tweak it for a halfling focused on sneak atks, esp. ranged ones. Here's what I had in mind:

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 04.19.01
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 28 True Neutral Halfling Female
(1 Fighter \ 13 Rogue \ 6 Ranger \ 8 Epic) 
Hit Points: 348
Spell Points: 65 
BAB: 16\16\21\26\26
Fortitude: 15
Reflex: 19
Will: 7

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(34 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 28)
Strength             16                    23
Dexterity            17                    21
Constitution         14                    16
Intelligence         12                    14
Wisdom                8                    10
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 23

Level 1 (Rogue)
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Ranger
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack


Level 2 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Undead


Level 3 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Cleave


Level 4 (Ranger)
Ability Raise: STR


Level 5 (Rogue)


Level 6 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Great Cleave


Level 7 (Ranger)


Level 8 (Ranger)
Ability Raise: STR


Level 9 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Piercing Weapons
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Improved Critical: Ranged Weapons


Level 10 (Rogue)


Level 11 (Rogue)


Level 12 (Rogue)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Selected) Point Blank Shot


Level 13 (Rogue)


Level 14 (Rogue)


Level 15 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Precise Shot


Level 16 (Rogue)
Ability Raise: STR


Level 17 (Rogue)
Feat: (Rogue Bonus) Improved Evasion


Level 18 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Weapon Fighting


Level 19 (Rogue)


Level 20 (Rogue)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Rogue Bonus) Opportunist
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Knife in the Darkness (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Dagger in the Back (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Assassin's Trick (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Nimbleness (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Shiv (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Shiv (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Shiv (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Venomed Blades (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Venomed Blades (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Venomed Blades (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Critical Accuracy (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Critical Accuracy (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Critical Accuracy (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Execute (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Critical Damage (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Critical Damage (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Critical Damage (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Killer (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Killer (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Killer (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Assassinate (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Knife Specialization (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Far Shot (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Sneak Attack (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Sniper Shot (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Stealthy (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Stealthy (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Stealthy (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Increased Empathy (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Damage Boost (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Damage Boost (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Favored Accuracy (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Aimed Shot (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Favored Damage (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Killer (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Merciful Shot (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Shield of Whirling Steel (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Tempest (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Improved Reaction (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Improved Reaction (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Whirling Blades (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Kensei (Ftr) - Kensei Focus: Light Blades (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Kensei (Ftr) - Haste Boost (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Kensei (Ftr) - Haste Boost (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Kensei (Ftr) - Haste Boost (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Rgr) - Arcane Archer (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Rgr) - Morphic Arrows (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Rgr) - Conjure Arrows (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Rgr) - Corrosive Arrows (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Thief-Acrobat (Rog) - Acrobat (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Thief-Acrobat (Rog) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Thief-Acrobat (Rog) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Thief-Acrobat (Rog) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 3)


Level 21 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Overwhelming Critical


Level 22 (Rogue)


Level 23 (Rogue)


Level 24 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Improved Sneak Attack


Level 25 (Rogue)


Level 26 (Rogue)


Level 27 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Combat Archery


Level 28 (Rogue)

Assassin / DWS combo, with bits from Tempest (+10% offhand), AA (acid+morphic imbues), Acrobat (faster sneaking, stacks w/DWS AFAIK), and Kensei (+1 feat, max Haste Boost). Knife Specialization for +1 crit range & multiplier w/daggers; uses rapiers until lvl 12. Several special atks: Sniper Shot to make targets vulnerable to sneak atks (combine w/Manyshot); Aimed Shot for +1 crit multiplier (combine w/MS+Adrenaline); Execute & Merciful Shot for finishing off weakened foes; Shiv for lowering aggro; Assassinate is mostly for +10d6 SA, since I don't expect DCs to be good enough to make the instakill useful. Cleave+GC are for when you're surrounded by mobs (equip a Deception item to help SAs proc); and are pre-reqs for Overwhelming Crit (which AFAIK stacks w/Knife Spec). Lvl 26 ED feat should be PTWF; not sure what the lvl 28 feat should be, since the Doubleshot penalty from MS makes DS feat questionable. Maybe Elusive Target?

[BTW, it's unclear to me what happens when you use special ranged atks while IPS is active; do they proc on every target in the line? If so, then this build becomes even more potent against mobs.]

Sneak atk dmg should be 17d6 (27d6 on Assassinate):

• 7d6 rog lvls
• 4d6 Assassin enhs
• 3d6 DWS enhs
• 3d6 Imp Sneak Atk

If I had more APs to spare, I could add +3d6 SA from halfling tree.

Could respec to focus on AA instead: Adrenaline+Slaying Arrows is t3h aw3sum (or so I'm told). Another option: drop CL/GC/OC so you can add Least DM, Maximize, and something else; basically trading AoE & crit DPS for some self-healing. In which case you will definitely want to divert some APs into halfling tree to max out DMs.

Instead of ftr, a lot of people will recommend a cleric or FvS splash for Divine Might. However, this build is pretty tight on feats (if I had one to spare, I'd take Precision) and DM only pays off if you hit CHA 18+, since Insightful STR +3 epic items are pretty common. So I would only do that if you decide to drop CL/GC/OC and maybe want Least DM w/Emp Heal.

[Panpiper]

Sorry, that's not really what I would be looking for- I'm trying to fit in some sort of high melee burst damage as well with an emphasis on sneaking and assassian type characteristics.

For maximum burst damage, use what I outlined to level 12, splash in two levels of fighter so you can take Kensei haste and get two more feats, then fill in the rest with rogue levels to get rogue to level seven. That gets you three extra sneak attack dice on top of the one gotten at first level, plus an easy +3 pushing the assassin line a bit for a total of +7 sneak attack dice. More sneak attack than that I am sure could be culled out of judicious enhancements. While leveling ranger, make sure to pick up Called Shot:Exposing Strike from Deepwood Stalker.

For maximum burst damage, sneak up to the target, hit your haste boost then smack the target with Exposing Strike and wail on them with both weapons hasted, each strike doing your full sneak attack damage for the next four seconds! If you went for tier five tempest, throw in 'A Thousand Cuts' to effectively double the damage output by double striking with every hit for six seconds.

You could decide to forgo the tier five enhancements, Evasive Dance and Thousand Cuts from tempest and go for assassinate and knife specialization, which can go a long way with with the right daggers, but I think that would lower both your survivability 'and' your burst damage.

[Maelodic]

[build]

Thank you so much- this definitely gives me the right direction to go.

Do you have any clue as to what equipment as far as daggers and sneak gear are particularly good?

[lord_kagato1]

Drow ranged arty builds are pretty straight-forward. There are really only three question marks:

• Pure or multiclassed? Staying pure lets you take one of the capstones; I think Arcane Empowerment is a bit better than Master Engineer, but either gives you +2 INT. Multiclassing lets you add more feats and/or Evasion; a rog or monk 2 splash is pretty common for arties.
• Do you take Construct Essence? The advantage is it lets you self-repair on a fleshie arty; the drawback is you take -25% penalty to all positive energy heals. I'm not a fan of it; other people are. My suggestion would be to take it early on to give yourself some self-sufficiency; then swap it out once your UMD is high enough for CCW wands & Heal scrolls.
• Do you invest in caster DPS? U19 added a bunch of SLAs to the Arcanotechnician tree, which means arties finally have something other than Blade Barrier & TacDet to play with in later levels. But the downsides are: (A) they all cap at CL:10 (so their DPS doesn't scale well in epics); (B) they're all Reflex-based, which means if your DCs aren't up to snuff, mobs w/Evasion take no dmg; (C) they're all lightning-based, which means against mobs w/electric resistances you're stuck w/BB&TD; and (D) arties don't get the deep SP pools nor can hit the DCs of a good sorc or wiz build. As AtomicMew points out, relying on the arty lightning SLAs is like having all the drawbacks of being an Air Savant with none of the perks.

Here's a sample build to give you some ideas: pure arty, ranged-focused, but with a strong caster DPS component.

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 04.19.01
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 28 True Neutral Drow Female
(20 Artificer \ 8 Epic) 
Hit Points: 276
Spell Points: 339 
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 8
Reflex: 12
Will: 11

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 28)
Strength              8                     8
Dexterity            17                    22
Constitution         14                    14
Intelligence         18                    26
Wisdom                8                     8
Charisma             10                    10

Tomes Used
+2 Tome of Intelligence used at level 7
+2 Tome of Dexterity used at level 15
+3 Tome of Dexterity used at level 20

Level 1 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Point Blank Shot


Level 2 (Artificer)


Level 3 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Construct Essence (swap for Toughness later)


Level 4 (Artificer)
Ability Raise: INT
Feat: (Artificer Bonus) Precise Shot


Level 5 (Artificer)


Level 6 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Precision


Level 7 (Artificer)


Level 8 (Artificer)
Ability Raise: INT
Feat: (Artificer Bonus) Rapid Shot


Level 9 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Maximize Spell


Level 10 (Artificer)


Level 11 (Artificer)


Level 12 (Artificer)
Ability Raise: INT
Feat: (Selected) Heighten Spell
Feat: (Artificer Bonus) Improved Critical: Ranged Weapons


Level 13 (Artificer)


Level 14 (Artificer)


Level 15 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Spell Focus: Evocation


Level 16 (Artificer)
Feat: (Artificer Bonus) Improved Precise Shot


Level 17 (Artificer)


Level 18 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Focus: Evocation


Level 19 (Artificer)


Level 20 (Artificer)
Ability Raise: DEX
Feat: (Artificer Bonus) Empower Spell
Enhancement: Drow - Spell Resistance (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Drow - Drow Intelligence (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Drow - Spell Resistance (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Drow - Drow Dexterity (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Arcanotechnician (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Palliative Admixture (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Thaumaturgical Battery (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Lightning Bolt (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Static Shock (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Static Shock (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Static Shock (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Spell Critical (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Spell Critical (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Shocking Vulnerability (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Shocking Vulnerability (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Shocking Vulnerability (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Lightning Sphere (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Lightning Sphere (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Lightning Sphere (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Spell Critical (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Intelligence (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Blast Rod (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Blast Rod (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Blast Rod (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Spell Critical (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcanotechnician (Art) - Intelligence (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Battle Engineer (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Infused Weapons (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Infused Armor (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Infused Weapons (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Infused Armor (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Master Engineer (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Crossbow Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Thermal Venting (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Thermal Venting (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Thermal Venting (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Crossbow Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Damage Boost (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Damage Boost (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Damage Boost (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Thaumaturgical Conduits (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Thaumaturgical Conduits (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Thaumaturgical Conduits (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Crossbow Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Extra Action Boost (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Arcane Capacitors (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Intelligence (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Crossbow Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Rune Arm Overcharge (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Arcane Capacitors (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Intelligence (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Weapon Attachment (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Rune Arm Overcharge (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Battle Engineer (Art) - Tactical Mobility (Rank 1)


Level 21 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Combat Archery


Level 22 (Artificer)


Level 23 (Artificer)


Level 24 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Epic Spell Focus: Evocation


Level 25 (Artificer)


Level 26 (Artificer)


Level 27 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Blinding Speed


Level 28 (Artificer)

A few comments:

• The +2 INT tome is nice but not necessary. OTOH, the +2 DEX tome is necessary to qualify for IPS and the +3 upgrade tome (+1 lvl-up) is necessary for CA. Worst-case scenario, you Favor-farm until you hit 1750 to unlock Champion and earn your free +2 tome. EDIT: you can also take ESF:Evo @ lvl 21 and delay CA until lvl 24, giving you more time to pull or buy a +3 upgrade.
• If you decide to drop the lightning SLAs, you can swap Heighten for something else, like Quicken or Insightful Reflexes.
• Builder's still a big bugged; one of the ED feats is Doubleshot; the other ED feat is up to you. EDIT: this requires making your way over to the Primal Sphere ASAP and maxing out two EDs; I recommend Shiradi & FotW, with a pit stop in Primal Avatar to pick up Rejuv Cocoon.
• I didn't list skills, but I would definitely max Concentration, Disable, Open Lock, Repair, Spellcraft, Search, Spot, and UMD. Any leftover pts can go into, say, Haggle or Balance. EDIT: if you're really planning ahead, max ranks in Heal to boost Rejuv Cocoon when you pick it up someday.
• If you want a rog splash, the first lvl should be at the beginning; the second can go wherever you like / want Evasion. If you want a monk splash, use the bonus feats to take Precision & Toughness (or maybe Dodge).

Thank you for the quick response. Looking over your build has given me some ideas. I had thought of going the Arcanotechnician path and max out all the PET tree. I wonder if that's a good idea or a bad idea. Does your pet become more of a liability at Epic Levels than a boon?

If you were to go multiclassing, I figured a rogue would be nice for the evasion. Would that help in EE quests?

Thank you once again for your input.

**ADDENUM**

What about the Drow darkfire SLA? 1d12 per level x 3 at 21 seems like alot of damage. Would that also be useful?

[unbongwah]

Do you have any clue as to what equipment as far as daggers and sneak gear are particularly good?

Stealth gear - errr, anything w/+Hide & Move Silently on it, I guess? Wraith's Skin, Vulkoorim Leathers,Silken Mail, Woodsman's Leathers (+boots)...that's all I can think of offhand.

Since my build doesn't switch to daggers until lvl 12 (Knife Spec), I'll focus mostly on higher-level ones. Sky Pirate's Dagger to start, Nightforge Stiletto, Threnal, Vulkoorim Dagger, Guardian, Polycurse Dagger, Fell Shiv, eSpy Dagger, Sacrificial, drow dagger, Agony. No shortage of named daggers in DDO. [If you have Harbinger, I'd also get a pair of Turbulent Epees for DR-breaking.]

EDIT: for longbows, go for Silver Bow, Bow of Sinew, and Cannith acid longbow for leveling, with Pinion as your ultimate goal.

[unbongwah]

I had thought of going the Arcanotechnician path and max out all the PET tree. I wonder if that's a good idea or a bad idea. Does your pet become more of a liability at Epic Levels than a boon?

TBH, I haven't messed w/pets since U19 went live; but historically I've always been underwhelmed by DDO pets. The problem is they just don't scale up in power nearly as much as mobs do; after a while they feel more like mana sponges than helpful companions.

Still, there's nothing stopping you from maxing out your robo-dog and, if you don't like it or it becomes a liability, spec out of it later. For that, you should squeeze in Augment Summoning somewhere; maybe at lvl 6 and swap it out for Precision later.

EDIT: looking at the PrE trees again, I might consider flipping them around and spending more pts on Arcanotech too; Motes SLA + 1 Evo DCs might be more useful than Battle Engineer's T5 enhs.

If you were to go multiclassing, I figured a rogue would be nice for the evasion. Would that help in EE quests?

I love Evasion, but you have to invest in Reflex saves to keep it useful. Fortunately, you'll have high DEX & INT, so it's not too hard to pump up, w/ or w/out Insightful Reflexes. But you're giving up +2 INT capstone

What about the Drow darkfire SLA? 1d12 per level x 3 at 21 seems like alot of damage. Would that also be useful?

Since the DC is based on CHA and this build dumps CHA, I'm guessing not. Plus you have to spend 10 APs in drow tree to unlock it; and I don't know what else to take besides +INT/DEX bonuses. But I haven't tried it yet.

[Maelodic]

Stealth gear - errr, anything w/+Hide & Move Silently on it, I guess? Wraith's Skin, Vulkoorim Leathers,Silken Mail, Woodsman's Leathers (+boots)...that's all I can think of offhand.

Since my build doesn't switch to daggers until lvl 12 (Knife Spec), I'll focus mostly on higher-level ones. Sky Pirate's Dagger to start, Nightforge Stiletto, Threnal, Vulkoorim Dagger, Guardian, Polycurse Dagger, Fell Shiv, eSpy Dagger, Sacrificial, drow dagger, Agony. No shortage of named daggers in DDO. [If you have Harbinger, I'd also get a pair of Turbulent Epees for DR-breaking.]

EDIT: for longbows, go for Silver Bow, Bow of Sinew, and Cannith acid longbow for leveling, with Pinion as your ultimate goal.

I have some ideas based on what you've created- I was wondering if you think they have some potential.

Okay- so I'm thinking of a variant for this, but I cannot seem to make the feats work because of BaB issues- the idea is:
13 Rog/6 Ranger/1 Monk
Ranger gets Haste Boost III fairly easily in his Tempest Line
Replace PA/Cleave/GC with Zen Archery/Adept of Forms/Master of Forms for the same OC effect in earth stance and some added survivability, as well as some extra double strike and DEX in Wind Stance.
Added survivability via WIS>AC
Allows DEX based if needed
Monk has three teir 1 abilities that enhance this: NiS: Faster Sneaking/Short Swords/More SA dice - Shintao: Deft Strikes for that last 10% offhand
Sneaking will be faster than running.

In a perfect world the feats would look like this:
1 Point Blank Shot
2M Zen Archery
3 Precision
6 Adept of Forms
9 Imp. Crit Peirce
12 Imp. Crit Range
15 iPrecise Shot
18 gTWF
21 Master of Forms
24 Improved Sneak Attack
26E pTWF
27 Combat Archery
28E First Blood or DoubleShot

Unfortunately, they cannot because you can't take Improved Crit at level 9 with this, or any combination thereof. Everything's so backloaded. Any ideas?

Enhancements would look like:

Enhancement: Halfing - Halfling Luck (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Knife in the Darkness (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Dagger in the Back (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Assassin's Trick (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Nimbleness (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Shiv (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Shiv (Rank 2) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Shiv (Rank 3) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Venomed Blades (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Venomed Blades (Rank 2) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Venomed Blades (Rank 3) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Damage Boost (Rank 1) 
Enhancement:: Assassin (Rog) - Damage Boost (Rank 2) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Damage Boost (Rank 3) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Dexterity (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Dexterity (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Assassinate (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Ninja Training (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Shintao (Mnk) - Deft Strikes (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Shintao (Mnk) - Deft Strikes (Rank 2) 
Enhancement: Shintao (Mnk) - Deft Strikes (Rank 3) 
Enhancement: Thief-Acrobat (Rog) - Acrobat (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Thief-Acrobat (Rog) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Thief-Acrobat (Rog) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 2) 
Enhancement: Thief-Acrobat (Rog) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 3) 
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Rgr) - Arcane Archer (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Rgr) - Morphic Arrows (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Rgr) - Conjure Arrows (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Rgr) - Corrosive Arrows (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Far Shot (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Sneak Attack (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Exposing Strike (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Stealthy (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Stealthy (Rank 2) 
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Stealthy (Rank 3) 
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Increased Empathy (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 2) 
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 3) 
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Shield of Whirling Steel (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Tempest (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Graceful Death (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Improved Defense (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Whirling Blades (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Whirling Blades (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Haste Boost (Rank 1) 
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Haste Boost (Rank 2) 
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Haste Boost (Rank 3)

Not enough room for elaborate parry or leg shot or anything like that.

I may just keep the fighter splash in there because of the synergy, but I thought this was worth looking into.

[unbongwah]

As you can see, adding monk to this build complicates things. If you wanna go that route, I'd probably suggest rog 8 / rgr 6 / monk 6: you give up Imp Evasion, Opportunist, & Imp Sneak Atk; but the extra monk lvls get you Adept of Forms, an extra monk feat, and higher-tier monk PrE abilities. You'll have to switch from daggers to handwraps or short swords to stay centered, which means you'll also drop Knife Spec; if DEX-based, I'd recommend SSs since Ninja will use DEX for dmg with them & longbows.

Not sure what the ideal leveling order would be, other than you want to hit monk 6 NLT than lvl 18 so you can take Master of Forms then. Monk bonus feats can be: Power Atk, Zen Archery, and Precision.

So here's a rough build:

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 04.19.01
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 28 Lawful Neutral Halfling Female
(6 Monk \ 8 Rogue \ 6 Ranger \ 8 Epic) 
Hit Points: 384
Spell Points: 80 
BAB: 16\16\21\26\26
Fortitude: 18
Reflex: 26
Will: 12

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(34 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 28)
Strength             11                    13
Dexterity            19                    27
Constitution         16                    18
Intelligence         11                    12
Wisdom               11                    13
Charisma              8                     8

Tomes Used
+1 Tome of Intelligence used at level 3
+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 Wisdom used at level 7

Level 1 (Rogue)
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Ranger
Feat: (Selected) Point Blank Shot


Level 2 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Undead


Level 3 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Least Dragonmark of Healing


Level 4 (Ranger)
Ability Raise: DEX


Level 5 (Rogue)


Level 6 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Maximize Spell


Level 7 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Giant


Level 8 (Ranger)
Ability Raise: DEX


Level 9 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Piercing Weapons


Level 10 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Power Attack


Level 11 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Zen Archery


Level 12 (Monk)
Ability Raise: DEX
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Ranged Weapons
Feat: (Monk Path) Path of Harmonious Balance: Fists of Light


Level 13 (Rogue)


Level 14 (Monk)


Level 15 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Weapon Fighting


Level 16 (Monk)
Ability Raise: DEX
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Precision


Level 17 (Rogue)


Level 18 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Master of Forms


Level 19 (Rogue)


Level 20 (Rogue)
Ability Raise: DEX
Enhancement: Halfing - Halfling Luck (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Halfing - Jorasco Dragonmark Focus (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Halfing - Jorasco Dragonmark Focus (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Halfing - Jorasco Dragonmark Focus (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Halfing - Cunning (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Halfing - Lesser Dragonmark of Healing (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Halfing - Break Out The Leeches (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Halfing - Guile (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Halfing - Greater Dragonmark of Healing (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Halfing - Guile (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Ninja Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Ninja Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Shadow Veil (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Acrobatic (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Acrobatic (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Acrobatic (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Fists of Iron (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Sting of the Ninja (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Knife in the Darkness (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Dagger in the Back (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Shiv (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Shiv (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Shiv (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Shintao (Mnk) - Bastion of Purity (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Shintao (Mnk) - Protection from Tainted Creatures (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Shintao (Mnk) - Deft Strikes (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Shintao (Mnk) - Deft Strikes (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Shintao (Mnk) - Deft Strikes (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Rgr) - Arcane Archer (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Rgr) - Morphic Arrows (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Rgr) - Conjure Arrows (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Rgr) - Corrosive Arrows (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Far Shot (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Sneak Attack (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Sniper Shot (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Stealthy (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Stealthy (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Stealthy (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Increased Empathy (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Shield of Whirling Steel (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Tempest (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Improved Reaction (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Improved Reaction (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Whirling Blades (Rank 1)


Level 21 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Precise Shot


Level 22 (Rogue)


Level 23 (Rogue)


Level 24 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Grandmaster of Forms


Level 25 (Rogue)


Level 26 (Rogue)


Level 27 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Combat Archery


Level 28 (Rogue)

I built her with the assumption you'd use Wind Stance in melee for higher doublestrike and Earth Stance in ranged for +1 crit multiplier; and that's mostly because you don't want the extra threat from Earth in melee. I took Least DM + Maximize largely because I couldn't think of any better feats to add. But it does provide some decent healing oomph; add in Fists of Light and she should be pretty self-sufficient. But that strains APs a fair bit; and it means you have to invest in Heal skill & Pos Spellpower on top of everything else you want.

I'd intended to add 10K Stars as well, but as you can see higher-level feats are limited; and since WIS is relatively low on this build and Manyshot & 10K Stars now share a cooldown, I consider it less of must-have than I would on a full-fledged monkcher.

[Arkadios]

First off, GM Earth stance doesn't add much over Master, which is what provides +1 crit multiplier; a little more PRR & threat, that's it. So Master of Forms is good enough.

Second, you didn't mention what weapons you planned to use, but I'm inferring you want a centered TWF Kensei like all the cool kids have. But that req's ftr 8 for Gtr Weapon Focus, which complicates your build / levelingorder; this combo doesn't hit its full potential until lvl 20, which makes it less than ideal for TR purposes.

Highest tier of stances also gives +4 stat bonus's rather than +3 that master of forms gives.

[Maelodic]

As you can see, adding monk to this build complicates things. If you wanna go that route, I'd probably suggest rog 8 / rgr 6 / monk 6: you give up Imp Evasion, Opportunist, & Imp Sneak Atk; but the extra monk lvls get you Adept of Forms, an extra monk feat, and higher-tier monk PrE abilities. You'll have to switch from daggers to handwraps or short swords to stay centered, which means you'll also drop Knife Spec; if DEX-based, I'd recommend SSs since Ninja will use DEX for dmg with them & longbows.

Not sure what the ideal leveling order would be, other than you want to hit monk 6 NLT than lvl 18 so you can take Master of Forms then. Monk bonus feats can be: Power Atk, Zen Archery, and Precision.

So here's a rough build:

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 04.19.01
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 28 Lawful Neutral Halfling Female
(6 Monk \ 8 Rogue \ 6 Ranger \ 8 Epic) 
Hit Points: 384
Spell Points: 80 
BAB: 16\16\21\26\26
Fortitude: 18
Reflex: 26
Will: 12

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(34 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 28)
Strength             11                    13
Dexterity            19                    27
Constitution         16                    18
Intelligence         11                    12
Wisdom               11                    13
Charisma              8                     8

Tomes Used
+1 Tome of Intelligence used at level 3
+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 Wisdom used at level 7

Level 1 (Rogue)
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Ranger
Feat: (Selected) Point Blank Shot


Level 2 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Undead


Level 3 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Least Dragonmark of Healing


Level 4 (Ranger)
Ability Raise: DEX


Level 5 (Rogue)


Level 6 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Maximize Spell


Level 7 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Giant


Level 8 (Ranger)
Ability Raise: DEX


Level 9 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Piercing Weapons


Level 10 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Power Attack


Level 11 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Zen Archery


Level 12 (Monk)
Ability Raise: DEX
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Ranged Weapons
Feat: (Monk Path) Path of Harmonious Balance: Fists of Light


Level 13 (Rogue)


Level 14 (Monk)


Level 15 (Monk)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Weapon Fighting


Level 16 (Monk)
Ability Raise: DEX
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Precision


Level 17 (Rogue)


Level 18 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Master of Forms


Level 19 (Rogue)


Level 20 (Rogue)
Ability Raise: DEX
Enhancement: Halfing - Halfling Luck (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Halfing - Jorasco Dragonmark Focus (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Halfing - Jorasco Dragonmark Focus (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Halfing - Jorasco Dragonmark Focus (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Halfing - Cunning (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Halfing - Lesser Dragonmark of Healing (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Halfing - Break Out The Leeches (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Halfing - Guile (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Halfing - Greater Dragonmark of Healing (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Halfing - Guile (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Ninja Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Ninja Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Shadow Veil (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Acrobatic (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Acrobatic (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Acrobatic (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Fists of Iron (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Ninja Spy (Mnk) - Sting of the Ninja (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Knife in the Darkness (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Dagger in the Back (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Shiv (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Shiv (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Shiv (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Assassin (Rog) - Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Shintao (Mnk) - Bastion of Purity (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Shintao (Mnk) - Protection from Tainted Creatures (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Shintao (Mnk) - Deft Strikes (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Shintao (Mnk) - Deft Strikes (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Shintao (Mnk) - Deft Strikes (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Rgr) - Arcane Archer (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Rgr) - Morphic Arrows (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Rgr) - Conjure Arrows (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Arcane Archer (Rgr) - Corrosive Arrows (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Far Shot (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Sneak Attack (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Sniper Shot (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Stealthy (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Stealthy (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Stealthy (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Increased Empathy (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Deepwood Stalker (Rgr) - Faster Sneaking (Rank 3)
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Shield of Whirling Steel (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Tempest (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Improved Reaction (Rank 1)
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Improved Reaction (Rank 2)
Enhancement: Tempest (Rgr) - Whirling Blades (Rank 1)


Level 21 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Precise Shot


Level 22 (Rogue)


Level 23 (Rogue)


Level 24 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Grandmaster of Forms


Level 25 (Rogue)


Level 26 (Rogue)


Level 27 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Combat Archery


Level 28 (Rogue)

I built her with the assumption you'd use Wind Stance in melee for higher doublestrike and Earth Stance in ranged for +1 crit multiplier; and that's mostly because you don't want the extra threat from Earth in melee. I took Least DM + Maximize largely because I couldn't think of any better feats to add. But it does provide some decent healing oomph; add in Fists of Light and she should be pretty self-sufficient. But that strains APs a fair bit; and it means you have to invest in Heal skill & Pos Spellpower on top of everything else you want.

I'd intended to add 10K Stars as well, but as you can see higher-level feats are limited; and since WIS is relatively low on this build and Manyshot & 10K Stars now share a cooldown, I consider it less of must-have than I would on a full-fledged monkcher.

Thank you so much for your work on this. It seems like the 12/6/1 path is just better due to synergy. The Monk path loses out on quite a bit of goodies for not nearly as big of a benefit. I'll just have to get a whole bunch of haste clickies or something along those lines.

Lack of any teir 5 abilities combined with lack of extra specialization and skill points makes the Monk path a lot harder to pull off- so the fighter path will be better. I am very fond of monks and tend to jump at a monk centered splash, but it's time to deviate a bit xD

[unbongwah]

Highest tier of stances also gives +4 stat bonus's rather than +3 that master of forms gives.

That's true, but there are so many stat bonuses these days, I guess I just don't see an extra +1 to be a big deal.

[unbongwah]

Lack of any teir 5 abilities combined with lack of extra specialization and skill points makes the Monk path a lot harder to pull off

Well, it's possible to add T5 abilities to that build, but that class mix suffers from an embarrassment of riches. In particular, I can't make up my mind which T5 to go for, because it means sacrificing APs in other PrEs to get it. Whereas my first build had a clear core concept (TWF w/daggers, Manyshot, lots of sneak atks), which made the DWS/Assassin combo click.

[Maelodic]

Well, it's possible to add T5 abilities to that build, but that class mix suffers from an embarrassment of riches. In particular, I can't make up my mind which T5 to go for, because it means sacrificing APs in other PrEs to get it. Whereas my first build had a clear core concept (TWF w/daggers, Manyshot, lots of sneak atks), which made the DWS/Assassin combo click.

Yeah- I've been exploring some more ranged options but none of them seem to click as good as your original build. I wish there was a way I could have both assassinate DC and a ranged burst option w/improved precise shot or at least a way to handle crowds a lot better and pick people off without being detected if I need to.

I've noticed while sneaking around on my pure Ranger that there's always that one mob that gets right up next to you and blows your cover- if I could kill or disable that mob without leaving sneak then I would be able go through my quests without needing heals at all. I'm missing the silent shot from the original DWS about now, but I'll go ask the friendly tight-nit Rogue community for their guidance.

You're awfully helpful in this, thank you so much. Your green bar deserves to start invading your posts.

[unbongwah]

I wish there was a way I could have both assassinate DC and a ranged burst option w/improved precise shot or at least a way to handle crowds a lot better and pick people off without being detected if I need to.

In theory, you could do some sort of INT-based Assassin / Mechanic combo: melee-focused with good Assassinate DCs, but a ranged option using repeaters. But in practice, I can't get the feats & APs to work out w/out heavy MCing; and the more you MC, the lower your Assassinate DCs become.

This may become more doable once Turbine finishes implementing the racial PrEs and halflings get the Assassin tree; I've actually got some ideas for halfling Assassin / lich Pale Master builds I'd love to try out. But that's a "maybe someday" wishlist.

[Maelodic]

In theory, you could do some sort of INT-based Assassin / Mechanic combo: melee-focused with good Assassinate DCs, but a ranged option using repeaters. But in practice, I can't get the feats & APs to work out w/out heavy MCing; and the more you MC, the lower your Assassinate DCs become.

This may become more doable once Turbine finishes implementing the racial PrEs and halflings get the Assassin tree; I've actually got some ideas for halfling Assassin / lich Pale Master builds I'd love to try out. But that's a "maybe someday" wishlist.

NiS Assassian would be really because with master forms and 3 measly points, you get enough passive ki regeneration to keep shadow fade on you at all times while sneaking. Ignore WIS and pump INT+DEX and things look really interesting, especially when using all the Monk abilities combined with Assassinate *shiver*