Request a Build - Get a Build

[MorkMark]

In the meantime I've picked up Blue Dragonborn Artificer. Got Strategic Combat from harper tree and went Arcanotechnican to get some SLA-s. Not sure if it will be viable but having a blast so far. I wonder how much blue Dragonborn Enchancements will be usefull here cause I'm sure I'm missing that int boost but so far it's ok. Should I try Inquisotor Arti? What would be a difference if compared to Arcanotechnican?

Also - Still open to completly different propositions.

[MorkMark]

Small update.
So I played with that electrificer build a bit and it's all cool and golden but now I wanted to try Inquisitive X-bow Artificer.
I'll need someone experienced with Artificer and Inq to look at this topic: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...er-Build/page5
So I was hoping I'd make human first lifer picking Feats from https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post6206514
Then mix it with enchantments from https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post6225419

Ideally I'd like if someone would make me a 28 point buy Inquisitive First lifer Artificer build.

So I understand First lifers usually reincarnate at 20 to unlock 32 point ?
Also I've read that Artificers use https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Ratcatcher early on as some sort of awesome weapon - what makes it so cool? The augment slot? What should I put there?

Waiting for feedback.

[SpartanKiller13]

Actually Ranged would do fine as well. The reason, why I mentioned melee, is that when I was testing Pale Trapper it seemed to me like more often than not I run out of mana and then just do crappy dmg watching my Pale-Masters summon kill everything. I didn't like that aspect.

Sounds like I'd enjoy non-spellcasting class then? Well here's a problem - I like to have lots of stuff on my hotbars and mele/full ranged seems kinda like too much left-clicking.

For aesthetic reasons I coudn't play a gnome character. Nothing against shorties - just general feeling doesn't appeal to me. Warforged share similar problem with me.
I really like how Dragonborns look like! Any builds that would fit a Dragonborn? I know it might seem a bit silly as it's like discussing buying a car based on the color but it's just how i feel like.

Inquisitive + Harper sounds cool - I've looked over those trees for a bit and universal tree concept seems interesting.
WF crossbow Artificer is ok without WF part. Can we make it with Dragonborn?
Essentially I'm looking for something with below criteria:
1. Magic or some sort of abilities palette that would make progression interesting. I don't want to left click through entire game. By that I mean it'd be cool but not necessarily if build incorporated something from: DC casting, DPS casting, CC, AOE, Heals. Anything to make usual right-click mele/ranged fights more interesting
2. Trapping - for getting into those areas that require it. Plus Open Lock but I can live without it I guess.
3. Ranged/Mele/something to do without spellpoints like Warlock blasts or Archmage Spell like Abilities... or maybe builds that never run out of spellpoints? - I don't want to just stand there looking at my summons doing the job or do awkward dmg with my wand when spellpoints deplete.
4. No Warforged/Gnome
5. Can take care of some endgame content solo, and won't be a total wuss in the party.
6. Dragonborn race and Artificer class looks kinda cool but if it doesn't align with the build idea It's fine.

Not sure if you were doing PM recently, but their new SLA's are pretty awesome damage for super cheap. I've been blasting my way around with those on whatever survives the instakills

Some melee and many ranged characters are low-actions, but there are also plenty with lots of buttons - mostly active attacks and similar stuff. I had a Monk/Fighter life with almost two hotbars full of active attacks lol.

Aesthetics are a perfectly valid reason to make decisions on, just be aware that might leave you slightly less optimal. But it's generally a small difference so I wouldn't worry about it.

Inquisitive+Harper is quite meta currently, and it works with like any race/class so it's easy to work with.

Artificer without WF still works (just grab Construct Essence etc) it's just less efficient (costs a feat and you're self-repairing at a penalty). Blue Dragonborn w/Lightning stuff could be pretty fun though.

1. You can get lots of options, but be aware that the more you grab the less effective you'll be. You'll have more options though, and Artificer is a pretty great one for having most of those; especially as an Int-max build, you should be able to get DC casting, CC, heals, crossbow DPS (casting DPS somewhat as well), and AoE via spells & IPS.
2. Artificer gets trapping, and anyone who can do traps can open locks (even if you only throw occasional skill points in).
3. All Artificer builds get crossbows = DPS for days.
4. Again, Dragonborn that you're doing seems to be good
5. Ranged toons with sustain are the easiest way to get into solo stuff at all levels; holds true at high levels as well as low.
6. Dragonborn Artificer it is!

In the meantime I've picked up Blue Dragonborn Artificer. Got Strategic Combat from harper tree and went Arcanotechnican to get some SLA-s. Not sure if it will be viable but having a blast so far. I wonder how much blue Dragonborn Enchancements will be usefull here cause I'm sure I'm missing that int boost but so far it's ok. Should I try Inquisotor Arti? What would be a difference if compared to Arcanotechnican?

I mean you like Dragonborn and Artificers are pretty much what you're after, so go for it! Gnome vs Dragonborn is only 4 Int, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. The main reason I recommend Gnome is Color Spray, but if you're against them race doesn't matter a ton Dragonborn also has access to +3 Action Boosts which is pretty great for Inquisitive and Battle Engineer.

Inquisitor and Battle Engineer have some overlap; I'd probably go Harper/Inquisitor/Arcanotechnician? You can use Insightful Damage to save you points in Harper (only need 3 for Strategic Combat I or 8 if you want KtA as well).

Small update.
So I played with that electrificer build a bit and it's all cool and golden but now I wanted to try Inquisitive X-bow Artificer.
I'll need someone experienced with Artificer and Inq to look at this topic: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...er-Build/page5
So I was hoping I'd make human first lifer picking Feats from https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post6206514
Then mix it with enchantments from https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post6225419

Ideally I'd like if someone would make me a 28 point buy Inquisitive First lifer Artificer build.

So I understand First lifers usually reincarnate at 20 to unlock 32 point ?
Also I've read that Artificers use https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Ratcatcher early on as some sort of awesome weapon - what makes it so cool? The augment slot? What should I put there?

Waiting for feedback.

The thread I was going to recommend no longer exists lol. I will say that standard Inquisitive builds are 18/2 Rogue/Arti and 10/6/4 Rogue/Fighter/Arti. Can swap to a GXBow during No Holds Barred for maximum wreckage.

If you want a LOT of options and a bit of reading, check out this thread. It's got a lot more breakdowns etc

I can do theorycrafting, but I'm not really a crossbow player (I do THF and a little bit of casting). Also Inquisitive + Harper and you've got 2/3 of the build lol.

As far as Ratcatcher, what makes it awesome is the crit profile. It has a 17-20/x3 base profile (average 1.35), which is +2 range and +1 multiplier compared to standard 19-20/x2 (average 1.05, a pretty massive gain). Gets even better once you add ICrit and Inquisitive Core 4 - it then becomes 15-20/x4 (average 1.85). TL;DR: it does 28-37% more flat damage (base + stat + all damage bonuses). Stuff like Law Dice works equally well, but that profile is very solid and will take you far. As far as what to slot, I'd recommend running Night Revels (that's the Halloween event going on right now) and slotting a Ruby of Endless Night (for champs mostly). You could do Ghostbane, but Core 4 Inquisitive gets that so it'd only be useful from 8-12 (worth it if you have two Ratcatchers though lol).

[Furyofearth]

Hey!

I've just returned recently after a huge, essentially 5ish years break. Needless to say, I find it very hard to know what's what. I've started a character to get back into the game with on a new server, it's a human bard that's about to hit 20. I suspect it's a decent amount gimped, so I'd like to lay it to rest with a TR.

As a second lifer I'd like something that utilizes SWF, is mainly focused on melee damage and isn't overly 'hard' to play. I'm not even sure what class would be ideal for that. I have access to every race/etc a vip has access to and naturally an about-to-be second lifer. Thank you!

On a side note, is there a thread somewhere with the optimal items for certain archetypes?

Regards,

S.

Edit: I've sort of looked at the couple things. How endgame viable would a melee sorc/melee wiz with SWF?

[Discpsycho]

Edit: I've sort of looked at the couple things. How endgame viable would a melee sorc/melee wiz with SWF?

Welcome back!

I did a life a few months ago as a pure SWF Wiz and had a total blast. Admittedly I TR'ed at 30, but Ithoroughly enjoyed the leveling process, which is about all I personally ask.

Endgame viability is mostly based on gear, especially for casters and hybrids, but also depends on what you want out of it. Are you looking to solo quest, raid, run R10? I have pretty underwhelming gear (pieces of epic Sharn sets but no full ones) and was (barely) able to solo R1 through heroics, EE all through epic levels and sometimes R1 depending on content.

The only absolute requirement is the Harper tree so you can get Int to hit/damage and have a solid Dire Charge. I found refreshing KTA wasn't at all irksome with this build since that was approximately how often I needed to re-up Death Aura

I haven't tried melee Sorc, but the consensus seems to be that it's comparatively underwhelming. You can only get Cha to damage with Cormyrean Knight Training (which locks you into PDK and longswords/shortswords) or Swashbuckling (which isn't a bad option and improves with a 1 FVS splash for Divine Grace, except you don't get 9th-level spells). Your only heroic healing option is as a Warforged via repair spells and the Savant trees are kind of underwhelming for melee. Compared to Wiz EK, which synergizes with Harper / Pale Master (which is really nice after the recent buff), there's no real contest

[Furyofearth]

Welcome back!

I did a life a few months ago as a pure SWF Wiz and had a total blast. Admittedly I TR'ed at 30, but Ithoroughly enjoyed the leveling process, which is about all I personally ask.

Endgame viability is mostly based on gear, especially for casters and hybrids, but also depends on what you want out of it. Are you looking to solo quest, raid, run R10? I have pretty underwhelming gear (pieces of epic Sharn sets but no full ones) and was (barely) able to solo R1 through heroics, EE all through epic levels and sometimes R1 depending on content.

The only absolute requirement is the Harper tree so you can get Int to hit/damage and have a solid Dire Charge. I found refreshing KTA wasn't at all irksome with this build since that was approximately how often I needed to re-up Death Aura

I haven't tried melee Sorc, but the consensus seems to be that it's comparatively underwhelming. You can only get Cha to damage with Cormyrean Knight Training (which locks you into PDK and longswords/shortswords) or Swashbuckling (which isn't a bad option and improves with a 1 FVS splash for Divine Grace, except you don't get 9th-level spells). Your only heroic healing option is as a Warforged via repair spells and the Savant trees are kind of underwhelming for melee. Compared to Wiz EK, which synergizes with Harper / Pale Master (which is really nice after the recent buff), there's no real contest

I mean, there aren't too many builds that are able to run heroic r10s during the leveling process, are there? Haha
I can definitely get Harper if it's a prereq! An SWF Wiz sounds good, any place I could find a good build like that?

Another thing: I really loathe warforged for flavor purposes. Anything else works.

[C-Dog]

You can only get Cha to damage with Cormyrean Knight Training...

Technically not true.

You can also get Cha-to-damage via the Swashbuckler tree, Different Tack. However, you're correct in that PDK is the only way to get Cha to damage and to hit, which is kinda an important part of the equation.

[SpartanKiller13]

Technically not true.

You can also get Cha-to-damage via the Swashbuckler tree, Different Tack. However, you're correct in that PDK is the only way to get Cha to damage and to hit, which is kinda an important part of the equation.

Sorc EK for Cha-to-hit, Swashbuckler different tack for Cha-to-damage, FvS 1 for half-Cha as bonus damage & tactics DC's.

[Vychos]

Hello again good folks.

I am looking to try a Dragonborn S&B Paladin.
What build should I be looking to?

What would be the major differences between a S&B Fighter x a S&B Paladin? What are the advantages and flaws of both?

Thanks in advance.

[SpartanKiller13]

Hello again good folks.

I am looking to try a Dragonborn S&B Paladin.
What build should I be looking to?

What would be the major differences between a S&B Fighter x a S&B Paladin? What are the advantages and flaws of both?

Thanks in advance.

Paladin's going to have some fairly solid updates in U45 (currently on 2nd preview in Lamannia) so if you're looking for an optimal build you might want to wait just a lil. We can speculate, but I hate offering build advice that will likely be out-dated in a short period of time.

S&B Fighter does more DPS (currently as much as 50% more if Vanguard), but Paladin is much more survivable directly (much higher saves, slightly higher HP & AC) and indirectly (decent healing options, can rez). Fighter will require outside healing (hireling, other players, etc) whereas Paladin is much more soloable.

Are you looking to hit stuff with your weapon while having a shield, or hit stuff with both? Vanguard is a solid tree with some CC options and a bit of DPS, but with U45 coming up there'll probably be some good stuff using other trees like Knight of the Chalice for weapon DPS instead.

If you want to start now I'd do a Vanguard build, not as much of that stuff is changing. Strimtom's Paladin Vanguard is a good spot to start, and might answer a few of your questions. Also includes a link to his Fighter Vanguard, which might interest you for comparison purposes. Both are slightly out-of-date (ED's had a huge rework in June, and there's options for some choices (using Knight's Training longswords instead of warhammers, for instance) but still quite relevant.

[Vychos]

Really appreciate the answer mate, thanks a lot. I am already trying the vanguard and will wait a bit to throw some tomes after I get a feeling of the update.


I posted on the general building sections a request that I am not sure if I should post it here. I will copy it here and I am ok if any moderator decide to delete one form the wrong place.

I would like to hit with the shield, but it's not a must.

Since I am in doubt if I should give cleric a try:

I've been searching for a cleric s&b for the last 3 days.

Can someone help me with this build?

Race: Dragonborn
Class: Full Cleric (20)
Points: 32
Tomes: willing to as needed

Everything I read, and I found just some few pages on it, says to split some fighter levels on it. I don't like splits, and I will only conceive on that if STRONGLY advised. By that I mean - I will be playing either with a friend (pure fighter) or going solo. I like to experience classes on their full capacity. As long as the toon can hold its on and progress I don't care if it's not the best one. The reason I want a s&b is just personal taste. I may TR him, so I am willing to try a split even if I don't want to, but if I do I will only go for +1 class, no +2 classes.

Any help?

[Tilomere]

I've been searching for a cleric s&b for the last 3 days.

Can someone help me with this build?

Race: Dragonborn
Class: Full Cleric (20)
Points: 32
Tomes: willing to as needed

I don't like splits, and I will only conceive on that if STRONGLY advised.

Any help?

Pure, 32 point, no tomes. They are neutering S&B THF glancing blows, so lets just drop those feats, and replace them with knights training for more crit and some sovereign host feats for more damage. Will cover AoE with some hybrid SLA casting.

Str 14
Dex 6
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 16 + levels
Cha 16

Skills: Balance, Concentration, Spellcraft, Heal

1 Sovereign Host (long swords) Maximize Blue Dragon (lightning breath)
2 Air Domain (gives lightning + chain lightning SLAs, and Soundburst DCs)
3 Empower
6 Knight's Training
9 Improved Shield Bashing
12 Improved Critical: Slashing
15 Child of Sovereign Host
18 Beloved of Sovereign Host
20 Reincarnate

AP at level 12
7 First get Blue dragon breath from dragonborn
12 Second get Fan of Knives from Vistani Knife Fighter (scales off force spell power) OR 23 AP Negative Energy Burst SLA from Divine Disciple Dark Path
24 AP Then get whatever you want. More melee crit multiplier out of warpriest and ameliorating strike around level 12 seems fitting?

You have to wear general spell power anyways as a cleric to heal yourself well, so this turns that spell power into some AoE lightning/knives attacks. Then melee cleanup single target when those are on cool down.

[SpartanKiller13]

Really appreciate the answer mate, thanks a lot. I am already trying the vanguard and will wait a bit to throw some tomes after I get a feeling of the update.

I would like to hit with the shield, but it's not a must.

I've been searching for a cleric s&b for the last 3 days.

Everything I read, and I found just some few pages on it, says to split some fighter levels on it. I don't like splits, and I will only conceive on that if STRONGLY advised. By that I mean - I will be playing either with a friend (pure fighter) or going solo. I like to experience classes on their full capacity. As long as the toon can hold its on and progress I don't care if it's not the best one. The reason I want a s&b is just personal taste. I may TR him, so I am willing to try a split even if I don't want to, but if I do I will only go for +1 class, no +2 classes.

Glad to help! Vanguard is pretty much THE tree for hitting stuff with a shield, which is why a few levels of Paladin or Fighter is recommended for that Cleric probably. You definitely don't need to multiclass if you don't want to, it's just slightly more optimal according to some metrics

Improved Shield Bashing will mean you hit stuff with your shield a bit anyway, but otherwise yeah I wouldn't worry about it. Tilo's build is pretty good, I'll vote for that:

Pure, 32 point, no tomes. They are neutering S&B THF glancing blows, so lets just drop those feats, and replace them with knights training for more crit and some sovereign host feats for more damage. Will cover AoE with some hybrid SLA casting.

Blue Dragon Air Domain

You have to wear general spell power anyways as a cleric to heal yourself well, so this turns that spell power into some AoE lightning/knives attacks. Then melee cleanup single target when those are on cool down.

I will say that anecdotally, Enlarge Spell seems to help Chain Lightning a lot. I'd probably recommend grabbing that and pushing back the Sovereign Host feats, but that's fully up to you.

I'd recommend trying to itemize Electric Spellpower & Spell Crit deliberately, but otherwise it's a solid build. Remember that you can apply metamagic freely to Spell-Like Abilities (SLA's) that you get from Dragonborn, Air Domain, or Divine Disciple. Right-click on the icon and set them to "always on"

-----

If you just want to melee, you'll probably be better off in Animal or War domain; Animal will be tankier (and has a cool charge attack) while War will have more melee DPS. I can throw you a build for either, but Cleric melee also definitely benefits from multiclass (I had a blast on a 14/6 Animal Domain Cleric/Fighter) so I'll wait for your response.

[Vychos]

I am giving Tilomere build a try. Current at level 3 only.

The one thing that I am not sure about his build is the Vistani Knife Fighter Tree simply because I just bought the Falconry Tree and I am not in the "mood" to spend more and buy another Tree.
Also I would rather go with white ancestry (and try to stun enemies - although I have no real knowledge of it, I am just imagining that Ice spells would freeze and relate to that), But this is totally not a thing, and I am more than ok with the blue ancestry, that I can see it seems to be more useful.

Some thoughts:

1. Should I spend points in STR since I now have the falconry tree?
2. Should I readjust stats to have more WIS because of Killer Instinct?

Some Info:

I have no clue on how to play a Cleric. I am an old D&D tabletop player with only rogue and barb experience in DDO. It's hard to choose if I want to melee or cast, because I can't imagine what I can do with spells in DDO. At the top of my head I can say I like to hit stuff with a sword, and I really like the shield idea, because to be honest, I think it looks cool, and I am a fan of fighting scenes where the character uses shields to attack. I am reconsidering both the split and the shield. But I have no ways of comparison, so let me ask you a question. What is the best way for me to try different styles? If I wanted to try a S&B, a S&O, and a THF Cleric, what would be the best approach to do it?

a) build 3 different toons and try them out.
b) build 1 toon and try the 3 ways with it
c) you tell me how

What I think:

a) not sure I have the time to do that, playing alone, it's hard to level up, and to be in Korthos with almost nobody around 3 times, one for each char seems to not be productive.
b) not sure there is a build to do that, and needing different weapons and feats to each one I don't know how I could get them.

I am nonetheless trying my best to try out different classes, like the Paladin, and the Bard. The only thing that I can think off is to buy veteran status, just to build different chars and try them out, but in my heart for me it's almost like cheating, I enjoy to deserve what I get. I would like to see the animal domain cool animation, to see how well the air domain maximize electric damage (although I have no clue about how important electric spells are gonna be), and I would also like to try a split to see if can get pass my close mind on the purist side.

What you advise?

[Tilomere]

The one thing that I am not sure about his build is the Vistani Knife Fighter Tree simply because I just bought the Falconry Tree and I am not in the "mood" to spend more and buy another Tree.

What you advise?

I advise buying content that allows you to unlock things, rather than buying trees. Buying basic Ravenloft allows unlocking Vistani from favor around level 12. Pretty much always buy expansions and adventure packs before classes/races/tomes/anything else, as that lets you explore a larger variety of content.

With content, you can unlock veteran builds for free with favor and test out all sorts of things to see what you like.

[Vychos]

I didn't know you could unlock it with Favor.

I asked around about the trees and I was advised to buy them since it would take too much time to unlock with favor. It seems the advice was not accurate.

Searching again now, I have the understand that it actually comes with some Ravenloft bundles. Not sure I can find such a bundle, but it seems I lost some money. Anything I can do about? Probably not.

Anyway, please don't get me wrong, I am grateful for your build and effort to help me, I am indeed using your build exactly like you said minus the vistani that I don't have access. But I will now consider Ravenloft.

[Tilomere]

I am indeed using your build exactly like you said minus the vistani that I don't have access.

Instead of Fan of Knives try substituting Negative Energy Burst SLA from Divine Disciple - Dark Path. It takes a few more levels to get the AP for it though.

[Vychos]

Thanks again Tilomere. I will do as you say and I will definitely go for Ravenloft and Vistani, just a matter of what I will get to first.

Thanks again mate.

[SpartanKiller13]

I am giving Tilomere build a try. Current at level 3 only.

The one thing that I am not sure about his build is the Vistani Knife Fighter Tree simply because I just bought the Falconry Tree and I am not in the "mood" to spend more and buy another Tree.
Also I would rather go with white ancestry (and try to stun enemies - although I have no real knowledge of it, I am just imagining that Ice spells would freeze and relate to that), But this is totally not a thing, and I am more than ok with the blue ancestry, that I can see it seems to be more useful.

There totally is White Dragonborn, which you could do; you'll get a cool animation sometimes if you kill enemies with freezing attacks (like your cold breath) but it doesn't include a stun component. You can get a 5% chance to daze enemies hit with your breath further up the tree, but IMO that's not worth it. Freezing enemies solid with a cold spell is mostly limited to Burst of Glacial Wrath, an epic spell available as a feat at level 24+.

The reason Tilo recommended Blue Dragonborn is that it synergizes very well with Air Domain (Electric Spellpower/crit is used for both, and both make the other stronger) although I don't think you'd have problems with going White and using his build.

Some thoughts:

1. Should I spend points in STR since I now have the falconry tree?
2. Should I readjust stats to have more WIS because of Killer Instinct?

If you want to run a Falconry Cleric build it'll be a bit different; you can largely ditch Str (keep 12-14 for early levels and to minimize issues with Str debuffs/encumbrance) and just go Wis > Con > else. Falconry is pretty fantastic in that you can then use your casting stat (Wis) as your melee stat, so it's a lot easier to invest and to gear around. It's also a fairly decent tree.

I have no clue on how to play a Cleric. I am an old D&D tabletop player with only rogue and barb experience in DDO. It's hard to choose if I want to melee or cast, because I can't imagine what I can do with spells in DDO. At the top of my head I can say I like to hit stuff with a sword, and I really like the shield idea, because to be honest, I think it looks cool, and I am a fan of fighting scenes where the character uses shields to attack. I am reconsidering both the split and the shield. But I have no ways of comparison, so let me ask you a question. What is the best way for me to try different styles? If I wanted to try a S&B, a S&O, and a THF Cleric, what would be the best approach to do it?

a) build 3 different toons and try them out - not sure I have the time to do that, playing alone, it's hard to level up, and to be in Korthos with almost nobody around 3 times, one for each char seems to not be productive.
b) build 1 toon and try the 3 ways with it - not sure there is a build to do that, and needing different weapons and feats to each one I don't know how I could get them.

I am nonetheless trying my best to try out different classes, like the Paladin, and the Bard. The only thing that I can think off is to buy veteran status, just to build different chars and try them out, but in my heart for me it's almost like cheating, I enjoy to deserve what I get. I would like to see the animal domain cool animation, to see how well the air domain maximize electric damage (although I have no clue about how important electric spells are gonna be), and I would also like to try a split to see if can get pass my close mind on the purist side.

What you advise?

Well, it seems like you've been asking for a build that does both, which is what Tilo and I are trying to help you obtain. If we're missing your goal, help us figure out what you're after

How I'd recommend playing is: buff up with useful stuff after loading in/resting; use your SLA's (Air Domain stuff, you'll get super cheap & strong spells at 5/9/14, as well as Dragonborn Breath, VKF throwy if you take it, or options in Divine Disciple) and maybe another damage spell on the way in, then melee the heck out of stuff. Throw heals only as needed or between fights (healing mid-combat means you'll take more damage, but it's worth using to not die). If you want to focus entirely on melee, Cleric is kinda the wrong class lol; they're a primary spellcaster so you'll be missing half the point if you skip that part. It's like playing a Rogue without Sneak Attack, or a Barbarian without Rage - you can do it, but like why?!?

Honestly, the ideal it seems for you might be to pick up an Iconic Hero. They start at level 15, with one level preset (which is a bit annoying for you, but great for testing etc). If you're set on Cleric, pick Morninglord because they start with one level set there; otherwise I'd recommend Purple Dragon Knight. Comes included with Shadowfell expansion, which is worth considering as well. Normally I don't recommend picking up races etc early, but the expansion is worthwhile and it seems like it'd meet many of your needs in one go.

With any of them, you can pick up 14 levels in Cleric (and one in your starter, whatever) and then you can try out the top-tier Domain abilities (Animal Domain's charge, Air Domain's Chain Lightning, etc). It's also an easy way to toe into a class dip; as a PDK you'll be 14/1 Cleric/Fighter, with basically no influence from Fighter but you can get a few cool perks if you want (like Haste Action Boost, which gives +30% Attack Speed for 20 seconds).

Otherwise, I'd recommend putting off Sword & Orb for now; Orbs are fairly uncommon and mostly named items, so you'll generally be running with a super-low-level one unless you've farmed in advance. You can probably try both S&B and THF in one life; if you're only 1-2 feats in either direction it won't matter too much as long as you're not overly worried with super-optimization, and you can get a free feat swap once/life which will help a bit too (swap one of your feats to the other style).

I advise buying content that allows you to unlock things, rather than buying trees. Buying basic Ravenloft allows unlocking Vistani from favor around level 12. Pretty much always buy expansions and adventure packs before classes/races/tomes/anything else, as that lets you explore a larger variety of content.

With content, you can unlock veteran builds for free with favor and test out all sorts of things to see what you like.

Yup! Good advice

I didn't know you could unlock it with Favor.

I asked around about the trees and I was advised to buy them since it would take too much time to unlock with favor. It seems the advice was not accurate.

Searching again now, I have the understand that it actually comes with some Ravenloft bundles. Not sure I can find such a bundle, but it seems I lost some money. Anything I can do about? Probably not.

Anyway, please don't get me wrong, I am grateful for your build and effort to help me, I am indeed using your build exactly like you said minus the vistani that I don't have access. But I will now consider Ravenloft.

For VKF (and Inquisitive) you can unlock them by basically doing the expansion on Elite. Since there's Heroic & Epic parts you can run them overlevel if you can't do Elite at level

As far as losing money I'd contact support? Otherwise you can buy Ravenloft in-game for ~2500 or as a bundle via the online store (will e-mail you a code).

[Vychos]

Hey I am using Tilo's build and it' s working like a charm. I am soloing everything on elite until now. Current level 5. I am at the same time running Axel's THF with minor changes since I am a Dragonborn, and I must tell you that although both builds are working great, I enjoy Tilo's more and I can't see why people say clerics and shields are a no go since its working perfectly. Maybe on more high-level quests things may get different, but for now I see no reason to say that.

Thanks again people.