Request a Build - Get a Build

[Merfyn]

Warlock /4 gives access to Brilliance which is another +Con temp HP in an aura. Pretty small radius, but really helpful at times depending on how you use your alts. Matters a lot more in epics (same as Inspire Courage + Fighting Spirit) where A) your stats get much bigger and B) those temp HP double. 30 Con = 30 temp HP = meh, but 60 Con x2 = 120 temp HP = kinda nice. For Heroics only I probably wouldn't bother unless you're trying to optimize to the max

Hmm, not sure it's worth it, at least this time around.

Incidentally, the support bard build I was looking at is *NOT* "1st-life Support Bard (trapper/warchanter/spellsinger)", though that's close enough for Government work. I wish I could find the original.

I'm also wondering, what with improvements to spellsinger, whether it's worth using the Shout & Horn of Thunder in later levels.

Hah I feel that! Darn real life, taking my gaming time away {also shakes fist}

I've been unable to do much more than grab daily dice in over a week. Ugh.

[SpartanKiller13]

Hmm, not sure it's worth it, at least this time around.

Incidentally, the support bard build I was looking at is *NOT* "1st-life Support Bard (trapper/warchanter/spellsinger)", though that's close enough for Government work. I wish I could find the original.

I'm also wondering, what with improvements to spellsinger, whether it's worth using the Shout & Horn of Thunder in later levels.
I've been unable to do much more than grab daily dice in over a week. Ugh.

Most of the Warchanter buffs are fairly short-ranged around the Bard. If you're going to have them in range, go for it! But if not, it's less impactful.

Bard spellcasting damage got a lot better in U48.4; if you're planning on questing with your Bard I'd definitely recommend it. If you're leaving them at the quest entrance (or in a backpack as a soulstone) it's mostly pointless to grab damage spells, no? That said, if you want to damage-cast as a Bard there's a recent video/build guide from Strimtom (link here) that's pretty helpful. Could /2 Rogue that pretty reasonably.

[Merfyn]

Most of the Warchanter buffs are fairly short-ranged around the Bard. If you're going to have them in range, go for it! But if not, it's less impactful.

Bard spellcasting damage got a lot better in U48.4; if you're planning on questing with your Bard I'd definitely recommend it. If you're leaving them at the quest entrance (or in a backpack as a soulstone) it's mostly pointless to grab damage spells, no? That said, if you want to damage-cast as a Bard there's a recent video/build guide from Strimtom (link here) that's pretty helpful. Could /2 Rogue that pretty reasonably.

Strimtom's video & a couple of discussions were exactly what I was thinking of.

I've tended to use the dual box as extra fire support, including dragging a henchman healer... considering that a pack rat is my spirit animal, not only do I use the 2nd toon to open locks & provide buffs but it also yields double the collectables and chest contents.

If it can supplement my main with firepower it's all for the better.

[bluejay42]

Looking for Scoundrel PLs. Any ideas how to make it work with Inquisitive? Should I multi-class? Any suggestions on useful stopping points with Bard?

[Discpsycho]

Looking for Scoundrel PLs. Any ideas how to make it work with Inquisitive? Should I multi-class? Any suggestions on useful stopping points with Bard?

Any particular HPL?

I haven't tried it, but on paper Bard doesn't directly benefit Inquisitive much. You could pick up Sustaining Song, or 10% doubleshot from Swash, but that's about it. Personally, I'd go with a tried-and-true FVS or Rogue 17 /2 Arti/1 Bard. Could also swap 2 Arti for 1 Barbarian, trading a smidgen of damage for more runspeed

[bluejay42]

Any particular HPL?

I haven't tried it, but on paper Bard doesn't directly benefit Inquisitive much. You could pick up Sustaining Song, or 10% doubleshot from Swash, but that's about it. Personally, I'd go with a tried-and-true FVS or Rogue 17 /2 Arti/1 Bard. Could also swap 2 Arti for 1 Barbarian, trading a smidgen of damage for more runspeed

The +10% doubleshot looks interesting, thank you very much!

[SpartanKiller13]

Looking for Scoundrel PLs. Any ideas how to make it work with Inquisitive? Should I multi-class? Any suggestions on useful stopping points with Bard?

Scoundrel so 15-30 build, right? Do you want to sit at cap and farm RXP/raids/etc or are you planning on immediate ITR? Do you want Bard PL as well?

Inquisitive is a solid tree by itself; adding Bard buffs is pretty great too.

I'd definitely consider multiclassing, since you're taking Inquisitive capstone there's no point in staying pure for most classes.

Bard breakpoints:

• Bard 9 - Displace + Haste + Good Hope + Ballad:Greatness
• Bard 12 - FoM included in songs, Fighting Spirit (Cha temps w/Song)
• Bard 15 - +4 saves & Dodge w/song
• Bard 16 - Otto's Irresistible Panic Button
• Bard 18 - Warchanter C5 access

I'd recommend 12 Bard, but everything past that is cake. Warchanter C5 is kinda nice, but definitely not required - and very AP-intensive; you can scroll Tenser's as needed.

More Bard levels also incentivizes you to grab Fast Movement from Swashbuckler (1% per Bard level) which is also pretty nice.

IMO you really want Warchanter C4 for epics, as it's a lot of temp HP constantly across your whole party. Still, with Inquisitive capstone + T5 already going you can't afford Spellsinger T4 (Sustaining Song) which is the other solid option - so I'd probably just go Swash/Feydark instead.

Something like:

• 41 AP Inquisitive (T5, Capstone)
• 23 Warchanter (C4, 4% Doubleshot, Ballad boosts)
• 13 Swashbuckler (C2, 10% Doubleshot, +3-6 damage, Cha-to-Damage, Fast Movement, Deflect Arrows)
• 3 Feydark (Cha-to-Hit)

If you have a Universal AP you can get 2% more DS from Warchanter, and if 2 UAP get Uncanny Dodge from Swashbuckler.

Of course if you're multiclassing you could ditch Warchanter and throw into that tree You're pretty stuck using Light Crossbows, but I think that's worth it vs ditching a lot of AP for Feydark's Cha-to-Damage.

Any particular HPL?

I haven't tried it, but on paper Bard doesn't directly benefit Inquisitive much. You could pick up Sustaining Song, or 10% doubleshot from Swash, but that's about it. Personally, I'd go with a tried-and-true FVS or Rogue 17 /2 Arti/1 Bard. Could also swap 2 Arti for 1 Barbarian, trading a smidgen of damage for more runspeed

Bard has some nice AoE buffs, and a bunch of +damage stuff which is really good for rapid-fire builds like Inquisitive. Bardic Inspiration, Warchanter C2/3, Flicker, Good Hope, etc - and those are all party buffs so you can get a bit more value from them.

You're right though, it's less DPS than a Rogue variant - so it depends what HPL you're after and the goals of the build

[Marshal_Lannes]

I have a caster character that I want to finish off completionist on and I need to pick up fighter, barbarian, and bard lives. I haven't played a swashbuckler in years so I'm a bit shaky on how they are built now, especially with changes to SWF. I'd like to essentially use the same philosophy (SWF swash with Forgotten axe) for all three lives so the gear is interchangeable. Going through heroics on R1/R3. I'll be using the Forgotten Axe/Barovian/Macabre handaxe all ML 10.

I know I'll need the 3 bard levels for fighter and barbarian lives. Does it make sense to fit in 2 rogue levels for evasion in light armor? Or would going 11/9 splits to get to 9 bard be preferable? Or Fighter 14/4 Bard/2 Barb for speed. Barb 14/4 Bard/2 fighter for feats. Bard 14/4 fighter/2 rogue feats and trapping. This is sort of what I'm storyboarding, could use some help in the fine-tuning.

[SpartanKiller13]

I have a caster character that I want to finish off completionist on and I need to pick up fighter, barbarian, and bard lives. I haven't played a swashbuckler in years so I'm a bit shaky on how they are built now, especially with changes to SWF. I'd like to essentially use the same philosophy (SWF swash with Forgotten axe) for all three lives so the gear is interchangeable. Going through heroics on R1/R3. I'll be using the Forgotten Axe/Barovian/Macabre handaxe all ML 10.

I know I'll need the 3 bard levels for fighter and barbarian lives. Does it make sense to fit in 2 rogue levels for evasion in light armor? Or would going 11/9 splits to get to 9 bard be preferable? Or Fighter 14/4 Bard/2 Barb for speed. Barb 14/4 Bard/2 fighter for feats. Bard 14/4 fighter/2 rogue feats and trapping. This is sort of what I'm storyboarding, could use some help in the fine-tuning.

Weirdly enough for a handaxe Swashbuckler build you really want to go T5 Frenzied Berserker; SB gives +2 range (doubled with ICrit), but no multiplier. FB T5 gives +2 multiplier, so you end up with a sick crit profile:

• 20/x3 base
• 18-20/x3 SB
• 15-20/x3 ICrit (+1 range, +2 from SB)
• 15-20/x5 Focused Wrath

Forgotten Axe has an additional +1 range, so it'll be 14-20/x5 crits which is just disgusting

If you don't want to T5 in Frenzied Berserker, you can use Kensei Core 3 for +1 multiplier to open your T5 up (like for SB) or Occult Slayer T5 for tankiness.

------

On level splits:

End of the day all you need for solid DPS is Bard 3 and either Barbarian 5 or Fighter 6.

Rogue 2 for Evasion is great, but it'll be hard to get enough Reflex saves past earlygame. You could go Int-based with Harper and Insightful Reflexes, but otherwise your Evasion won't be as helpful in the newer more difficult content where it matters more. YMMV, if you have super-optimized everything it might be easy for you, but it's an important consideration. Int-based is very AP intensive and doesn't have synergy with your build otherwise.

Important breakpoints:
Bard 7: Displacement + Haste or Good Hope - very good.
Bard 9: Inspire Greatness - free temp HP aura very nice.
Barbarian 6: Barbarian cores are shiny in general.
Barbarian 8: Improved Uncanny Dodge - this is an amazing defensive clicky that's usable very often.

Fighter just gives Feats, which are nice but not super important; mostly I'd be grabbing Spring Attack and some extra damage stuff. Also worth considering Cleric 6 on Cha-max builds (free Magical Training, Displacement SLA, Divine Might).

Barbarian and Bard have obvious easy routes to get a PL, and for Fighter you can go like 8/7/5 Fighter/Bard/Barbarian or whatever else is easy.

-----

You need to decide what stat to focus on:

• Str - easiest, and you have lots of easy +Str bonuses - Rage lots, harder to keep buffs going = take Extend early
• Cha - low-Rage route (easier to keep Displacement up and self-heal), access to Greater Color Spray which is easy to no-fail during Heroics
• Int - with Rogue, you can get solid Evasion; also KtA is pretty great.

------

Notes:

• Make sure you skill Perform and Balance - otherwise you can't use Bard or SWF stuff respectively.
• Extend is required for Raging styles, and still pretty good for low-Rage styles; keeping Displacement up longer is great.
• Feydark Illusionist w/Greater Color Spray is insanely good for Cha-max builds; give yourself free Helpless damage for most of Heroic DDO.
• Frozen Fury from Warchanter is also insane for Cha-max builds, especially with a Cleric dip for Divine Might.
• Soothing Song T4 in Spellsinger is great for party usage, but pretty terrible for self-heals past Elite. It's also pretty expensive AP-wise, so YMMV.
• Higher levels of Bard aren't that impressive generally; make sure there's a goal if you're taking these.

-----

That's my first thoughts, back to you

[Marshal_Lannes]

Gonna go STR to keep it easy. I'm thinking of going barbarian first, then fighter than bard (cause I'll likely take bard up to 30 since I haven't played an epic bard in years and it looks fun plus I'll have optimized this fighting style by then). Point taken on evasion and saves.

So do I even need fighter levels for barbarian or just go 17 barb/3 bard? Or 15 barb/3 bard/2 rogue. Or 13 barb/7 bard? Maybe leaning 13 barb/7 bard which seems to give best of both worlds from classes? One thing to consider - that hold 18 till cap you don't "get" your last two levels in split so hard to even make use of the Bard 9 for displacement except on the bard life.

Or in the fighter life start out mainly as a bard then swoop in for the fighter levels at the end? Or possibly try out the frozen fury route with this going Fighter/Bard/Cleric. Actually, that sounds fun.

Seems like I'm drifting away from the rogue levels.

[SpartanKiller13]

Gonna go STR to keep it easy. I'm thinking of going barbarian first, then fighter than bard (cause I'll likely take bard up to 30 since I haven't played an epic bard in years and it looks fun plus I'll have optimized this fighting style by then). Point taken on evasion and saves.

So do I even need fighter levels for barbarian or just go 17 barb/3 bard? Or 15 barb/3 bard/2 rogue. Or 13 barb/7 bard? Maybe leaning 13 barb/7 bard which seems to give best of both worlds from classes? One thing to consider - that hold 18 till cap you don't "get" your last two levels in split so hard to even make use of the Bard 9 for displacement except on the bard life.

Or in the fighter life start out mainly as a bard then swoop in for the fighter levels at the end? Or possibly try out the frozen fury route with this going Fighter/Bard/Cleric. Actually, that sounds fun.

Seems like I'm drifting away from the rogue levels.

Bard gets Displacement at level 7

Ah yeah it's definitely a failing of mine to only picture complete builds lol. Doesn't help that I've done a bunch of Iconics recently so you can ignore most leveling awkwardness...

The differences between Barbarian 11 and Barbarian 17 are functionally +2 Str/Con & +2% Damage Reduction, which doesn't seem too impactful? I'd probably err more towards the side of Bard levels for buff durations etc. Maybe Bard 3 > Barb 6 > Bard 7 > Barb 11? Or just THF Barb until level 6 or so when you get ISWF? Either way you'd get Greater Rage for the 18-20 grind, as well as earlier Displacement and Barb T5 at 12.

Fighter levels basically only get you bonus feats, so that depends on how much you prioritize Spring Attack and how many spellcasting feats you want. SWF x3, ICrit, Precision, and Extend are the mandatory feats IMO. Still, that's all your feats until level 15 (12 if Human) so you don't have a lot of feat flexibility without Fighter levels.

Note that Frozen Fury stun duration equals your Bard level, so don't skimp too much there. Frozen Fury is also Cha-based so you're basically stuck with Feydark Illusionist, but that also gives you insane Will saves (via Force of Personality) and amazing Divine Might synergy - as well as easy GCS usage for Heroics/low Epics. 8/6/6 Fighter/Cleric/Bard seems solid for a Fighter PL though, and you have full T5 flexibility there (Kensei, Swashbuckler, or Warchanter would be what I'd try).

I'm currently running a THF Warchanter (12/7/1 Bard/Cleric/Ranger) to get Bard + Scourge lives, and I'm really enjoying Frozen Fury + Strikethrough w/Silvanus mauls. I'm really enjoying freezing 2-3 monsters per Frozen Fury, but that definitely comes at a number of costs

[Marshal_Lannes]

The differences between Barbarian 11 and Barbarian 17 are functionally +2 Str/Con & +2% Damage Reduction, which doesn't seem too impactful? I'd probably err more towards the side of Bard levels for buff durations etc. Maybe Bard 3 > Barb 6 > Bard 7 > Barb 11? Or just THF Barb until level 6 or so when you get ISWF? Either way you'd get Greater Rage for the 18-20 grind, as well as earlier Displacement and Barb T5 at 12.

Fighter levels basically only get you bonus feats, so that depends on how much you prioritize Spring Attack and how many spellcasting feats you want. SWF x3, ICrit, Precision, and Extend are the mandatory feats IMO. Still, that's all your feats until level 15 (12 if Human) so you don't have a lot of feat flexibility without Fighter levels.

It's coming together. Yes, I'm thinking Barbarian 1-6 THF. Bard 7-13, switch to SWF at 10. Barb 14-18.

Feat 1-SWF 3-Precision 6-ISWF 9-ICrit slash 12-Extend 15-GSWF 18 -whatever
Skill - pick up perform and balance with Bard levels (have 4 before I Forgotten Ax). Need 13 DEX by 3 for Precision.
APs - Frenzy T5 for crit profile. Get Blood tribute? Rest in Swash.
Race - Aasimar? I have 4 racial points on this character.

[SpartanKiller13]

It's coming together. Yes, I'm thinking Barbarian 1-6 THF. Bard 7-13, switch to SWF at 10. Barb 14-18.

Feat 1-SWF 3-Precision 6-ISWF 9-ICrit slash 12-Extend 15-GSWF 18 -whatever
Skill - pick up perform and balance with Bard levels (have 4 before I Forgotten Ax). Need 13 DEX by 3 for Precision.
APs - Frenzy T5 for crit profile. Get Blood tribute? Rest in Swash.
Race - Aasimar? I have 4 racial points on this character.

Looks good

• I'd probably take Quicken or Dodge at 18. Starting Dex 10 should qualify you for Precision at 3 if you have a 3+ Dex tome.
• Max out Jump > Intimidate usually afterwards; Jump is QoL on melee, Intimidate lets you fight mobs that are chasing your buddies.
• I'd definitely get Blood Tribute, it's hilariously strong early on. I'd also max the Cracking Attack line for +2[W] and a nice Fort debuff. Might also be worth grabbing Supreme Cleave for trash-clearing, but YMMV because handaxes don't have much reach.
• Half-Orc might be the best DPS race? 7 AP gets you Orcish Rage (one of the best Heroic Action Boosts) and you get +Str and +H/D on the way. Aasimar is good if you have a bit of Wis though

[Wolfen719]

So, I'm not sure if anyone will want to try and fulfill my request...especially seeing the extant of the request, but maybe there are people out there who love making builds.

So...I've been back playing DDO for nearly 6 months now, after having been gone from the game for over 8 years. When I left I had a character I had started down the road to Completionist...barely. He was on his 3rd life. I come back to the game and now not only is there the "regular" completionist (whether you do just 1 or triple) but there is also racial completionist.

Well, my request is for someone to create 1 build for each and every class. That would be 15 builds. For me, these would be builds to solo content, preferably with disable device and pick locks (but not absolutely necessary). I'm sure there are already builds out there that would work perfectly for this...and probably in each class. But I've looked at the "build repository" and other places and I may find a build here or there that seems to work, but how about someone organizing a list of 15 builds (1 for each class) for people to do completionist?

For me, they would be 36 point builds, and I have +7 tomes for all stats.

Creating builds for racial completionist I don't think would be necessary...maybe just select one of the better class builds and just swap out the race, maybe change which class because some races may not be good with certain classes. But I figure 2-3 good class builds can be used just swapping out race to complete racial completionist!

Completionist isn't what it used to be? That's fine, that doesn't make me want to do it any less. Regardless of the merits of completionist!

Fulfilling this request could be as easy as posting 15 links to 15 already posted builds

It's not nearly as easy for someone like me that doesn't know all the minutia of the stats and abilities and stuff and how they all work together to know which build would be best for a solo lifestyle. Currently I tend to solo my way through content on elite..though I try to do R1 early on and as far as I can go....but I don't know if it's just that I don't know how to play my class (a possibility..but honestly I'm fairly competent) or if it's the build I use...but I try to follow solo leveling guides that say "do all the quests on R1" and I just get slaughtered in R1...especially by the reapers. So I do most of the content on elite (and there are a few quests I can only solo on hard).

If it helps at all, or if it makes a difference it the builds you create...for me these are the classes I've completed (once each so far);
Fighter
Paladin
Monk
Rogue
Ranger

and I'm currently on my Barbarian life and probably going to finish this one soon. Next lives, in the order I have planned are;

Bard
Favored Soul
Warlock
Wizard
Sorcerer
Artificer
Cleric
Druid
Alchemist

[SpartanKiller13]

Well, my request is for someone to create 1 build for each and every class. That would be 15 builds. For me, these would be builds to solo content, preferably with disable device and pick locks (but not absolutely necessary). I'm sure there are already builds out there that would work perfectly for this...and probably in each class. But I've looked at the "build repository" and other places and I may find a build here or there that seems to work, but how about someone organizing a list of 15 builds (1 for each class) for people to do completionist?

Fulfilling this request could be as easy as posting 15 links to 15 already posted builds

Good luck lmao, that's a lotta ask. Maybe unbongwah has enough in his repository, but I'm not that organized personally

Also still a few details to be provided; are you looking for R1 solo builds for all classes, or do you run Hard? Are you willing to farm out gear? Can all the builds be the same build? Do you zerg? What PL's/resources do you have available?

The easiest answers for you are the boring ones lol. Some 8-9/x/x class mix so you can just get whatever PL you want by changing the first class, or just running using Universal + Racial tree like a Inquisitive/Falconry Wis-max build? Or Inquisitive/Harper Int-max for trapping? Or Inquisitive/Feydark Cha-max for CC? Could go VKF for variety, although melee < ranged for survivability in Heroics.

Like a X/8/2 X/Favored Soul/Rogue using Inquisitive + Feydark/Falconry/Harper/Feydark (Feydark for solo carry, Falconry if you party/bring consistent CC, Harper if you are bad at trapping) maxing Cha/Wis/Int respectively. Feydark is probably easiest, Falconry is probably strongest with investment, Harper just gives great Evasion & trap skills.

I went with FvS because it gives native Wis or Cha to-hit-and-damage past level 2 (and you'll use XP rocks to skip 1) plus trances for both (use KtA for Int lives), +80 HP at level 7, Soundburst for Wis lives (use Greater Color Spray for Cha lives), and enough SP to spam your CC/heals as needed. There's definitely plenty of other options, but it's an easy base.

+7 tomes make feat pre-requisites easy (start like 14 Dex, then max DPS stat then go into Int & Con), and you're just Heroic so no need for Combat Archery.

And then just get a gearset or three (probably ML5 Feywild > ML8-10 RL + SL > ML15 Sharn) and a weapon or three (probs ML2 randomgen > Ratcatcher), and go ham. Make sure your gearset includes the usual ranged stuff, some DC stuff (Illusion Focus for Feydark, Evocation Focus & Assassinate for Falconry), and some swap items for trapping.

Enhancements - just go majority into Inquisitive, and later on go into your secondary tree; for Harper grab Int-to-Hit-and-Damage & KtA (do this early), for Feydark grab GCS and You've Got My Back, for Falconry grab Sprints, HP, and No Mercy (likely later). Late Heroics can go into Feydark or Falconry as a tertiary with leftover points (for GCS or Sprints respectively).

[Wolfen719]

I appreciate the feedback. Let me just say first off...I may have found all the builds I was looking for. I logged on to Strimtom's discord and asked there...and he pointed me out to his very recent HC4 builds. Some of those builds...well a few of them seemed like just the thing for some of the classes for me...and then through that I found his build repository and from there I was able to select builds for pretty much all classes.

Now, none of these builds were created for me and what I want, however, all they really need to do is to allow me to solo level to 20 (or 30 if I'm going iconic). There was only 1 build that's a little iffy as Strimtom himself posted on the build that it's a 2/5 solo ability...but I think it will do.

Having said that, if anyone wants to make some builds specifically for me then I would likely prefer those...but Strimtom does make really nice builds. I've used a few of his before, so it's not bad. But if anyone wants to create this list of builds...I'm sure that other people would also love to have a full list of builds, 1 for each class, to make their completionist goals that much easier.

Good luck lmao, that's a lotta ask. Maybe unbongwah has enough in his repository, but I'm not that organized personally

Most definately a lot to ask, so no worries.

Also still a few details to be provided; are you looking for R1 solo builds for all classes, or do you run Hard? Are you willing to farm out gear? Can all the builds be the same build? Do you zerg? What PL's/resources do you have available?

Well, lets see. R1 solo builds would be ideal as that gives the most XP, but I'm not concerned with R1 really. I'm sure once I'm done (or even before) I'll likely run some reaper mode runs with groups, but it's not really a goal of mine. So basically I run everything on Elite, and as mentioned there are a few quests that I have to run on Hard instead simply because they are more difficult. I'm sure you know the ones.

So, for Elite runs.

No, I am not willing to farm out gear. I do have a lot of gear, including some decent low level gear for "some" classes, and as I go I try to keep gear I think would be good for my next life. But I am not willing to dedicate farming runs to gear out a class that is just going to be "level then Reincarnate".

Can all the builds be the same build? I don't know how that would work. I mean I'm sure some classes could use identical or nearly identical builds, but I don't see how 1 build would be good for all classes...of course I don't understand all the intricacies of builds.

No, I do not zerg. I do like to try and finish runs as fast as I can...mainly because I use Sov II pots all the time, and those are expensive. But I like to try to complete everything in the quests, all the optionals and all the bonuses (conquest, ransack, disarm traps, etc...), but I don't always manage to complete all side optionals and bonuses and it doesn't bother me. So while I like to try to finish the quests quickly, it's by no means a zerg. So no zerging

As for PL resources available...if you mean gear, well yes, I do have a lot of PL gear that I've picked up. I keep ALL the blue gear that I get exactly for other characters or future incarnations. So I have decent gear for pretty much all classes...but I would say that gear is not close to complete. That is I may have 2-3 pieces good for 1 class for levels 2-6 but then I may not get another good piece or two until I hit level's 12+. So, the gear can be spotty, but I keep building up. But considering I'm happy with just doing Elite runs, the gear shouldn't be that big a deal. But I'll keep adding as I keep playing.

The easiest answers for you are the boring ones lol. Some 8-9/x/x class mix so you can just get whatever PL you want by changing the first class, or just running using Universal + Racial tree like a Inquisitive/Falconry Wis-max build? Or Inquisitive/Harper Int-max for trapping? Or Inquisitive/Feydark Cha-max for CC? Could go VKF for variety, although melee < ranged for survivability in Heroics.

Like a X/8/2 X/Favored Soul/Rogue using Inquisitive + Feydark/Falconry/Harper/Feydark (Feydark for solo carry, Falconry if you party/bring consistent CC, Harper if you are bad at trapping) maxing Cha/Wis/Int respectively. Feydark is probably easiest, Falconry is probably strongest with investment, Harper just gives great Evasion & trap skills.

I went with FvS because it gives native Wis or Cha to-hit-and-damage past level 2 (and you'll use XP rocks to skip 1) plus trances for both (use KtA for Int lives), +80 HP at level 7, Soundburst for Wis lives (use Greater Color Spray for Cha lives), and enough SP to spam your CC/heals as needed. There's definitely plenty of other options, but it's an easy base.

+7 tomes make feat pre-requisites easy (start like 14 Dex, then max DPS stat then go into Int & Con), and you're just Heroic so no need for Combat Archery.

And then just get a gearset or three (probably ML5 Feywild > ML8-10 RL + SL > ML15 Sharn) and a weapon or three (probs ML2 randomgen > Ratcatcher), and go ham. Make sure your gearset includes the usual ranged stuff, some DC stuff (Illusion Focus for Feydark, Evocation Focus & Assassinate for Falconry), and some swap items for trapping.

Enhancements - just go majority into Inquisitive, and later on go into your secondary tree; for Harper grab Int-to-Hit-and-Damage & KtA (do this early), for Feydark grab GCS and You've Got My Back, for Falconry grab Sprints, HP, and No Mercy (likely later). Late Heroics can go into Feydark or Falconry as a tertiary with leftover points (for GCS or Sprints respectively).

I appreciate the tips, thank you very much!

[SpartanKiller13]

I appreciate the feedback. Let me just say first off...I may have found all the builds I was looking for. I logged on to Strimtom's discord and asked there...and he pointed me out to his very recent HC4 builds. Some of those builds...well a few of them seemed like just the thing for some of the classes for me...and then through that I found his build repository and from there I was able to select builds for pretty much all classes.

Strimtom also has a few more build repositories from previous HC seasons, that should add a bit to your options. And he has a lot of detailed build guides in general. He's also currently on a series of 1-20 trying new stuff with fresh characters, which is pretty helpful because he's going in with no gear or resources.

Well, lets see. R1 solo builds would be ideal as that gives the most XP, but I'm not concerned with R1 really. I'm sure once I'm done (or even before) I'll likely run some reaper mode runs with groups, but it's not really a goal of mine. So basically I run everything on Elite, and as mentioned there are a few quests that I have to run on Hard instead simply because they are more difficult. I'm sure you know the ones.

Thanks! Self-healing is super important for solo builds, and it's a drastically different game on Elite vs R1. In R1 you do get some spell point sustain, but the 60% self-healing penalty hits pretty hard so you need to plan differently. On Elite you can reliably self-heal with almost any source, but it needs efficiency or built-in refilling (you can't just have 3 big heals/rest; but efficiency like Bard Songs healing for 10 minutes or Magical Training refilling enough to throw more heals works) whereas in R1 you mostly need big heals fast so you can stay alive.

No, I am not willing to farm out gear. I do have a lot of gear, including some decent low level gear for "some" classes, and as I go I try to keep gear I think would be good for my next life. But I am not willing to dedicate farming runs to gear out a class that is just going to be "level then Reincarnate".

As for PL resources available...if you mean gear, well yes, I do have a lot of PL gear that I've picked up. I keep ALL the blue gear that I get exactly for other characters or future incarnations. So I have decent gear for pretty much all classes...but I would say that gear is not close to complete. That is I may have 2-3 pieces good for 1 class for levels 2-6 but then I may not get another good piece or two until I hit level's 12+. So, the gear can be spotty, but I keep building up. But considering I'm happy with just doing Elite runs, the gear shouldn't be that big a deal. But I'll keep adding as I keep playing.

That's totally fine! Just means I'd recommend against heavily hybrid builds. Until you pick up a few more pieces of trapping gear, I'd recommend only trying to trap on Int-max builds (for the skills and Insightful Reflex-powered Evasion). A ranged DPS build with no gear vs great gear is just slower time-to-kill. A DC caster with no gear vs great gear is useless vs god-mode - some builds just lean more heavily on gear than others, so I'd prioritize based on what you have available. That said, once you have main-stat and DC gear you can kinda skip the rest for a DC caster, whereas a melee DPS build really wants a full gearset (for saves, HP, PRR/MRR, etc).

Can all the builds be the same build? I don't know how that would work. I mean I'm sure some classes could use identical or nearly identical builds, but I don't see how 1 build would be good for all classes...of course I don't understand all the intricacies of builds.

Just meaning like any 14 levels + Fighter 6 can work as a THF, using Kensei to do everything (although that's very easy to optimize from there). Take Cleric 6 as well while doing PDK lives (Silvanus + Displacement), and you can get 3 HPL's of your choice while also getting 3 hits of one of the strongest IPL's available on an excellent melee build. Or just do it for Heroics too lol, Displacement SLA + Cleric sustain = win. Or 8/6/6 x/Barbarian/Fighter also works great, using Ravager T5 + Kensei C3 and running THF melee with Blood Tribute > Blood Strength for sustain.

I'm a huge fan of THF though, which is definitely a factor as to why I'd consider doing that for PL's I don't care about. Your personal playstyle/interest is a huge factor, which is why it's hard to just hand you 15 cookie-cutter builds. You can get an Alchemist PL as a THF Barbarian/Fighter just ignoring the class entirely, but that might not be as fun as blasting stuff on an Alchemist - or it might be what you really want!

I know two players that ran Heroic Completionist as 10/10 x/Warlock (you can do this for all but Druid and Alchemist now) literally just ignoring all their other class features.

It's why I was mentioning VKF or Inquisitive plus Harper/Feydark/Falconry - you could literally run all your Heroic lives as a Cha-max Feydark VKF build, using Greater Color Spray plus knife melee. Build is nearly identical regardless of class, although you could certainly optimize by adding useful class features.

No, I do not zerg. I do like to try and finish runs as fast as I can...mainly because I use Sov II pots all the time, and those are expensive. But I like to try to complete everything in the quests, all the optionals and all the bonuses (conquest, ransack, disarm traps, etc...), but I don't always manage to complete all side optionals and bonuses and it doesn't bother me. So while I like to try to finish the quests quickly, it's by no means a zerg. So no zerging

Means stuff like Sprint Boosts are higher priority to you, and it'd be better to be less dependent on shrines and AoE is more important as trash-killing is most of your heroic career.

-------

What do you enjoy playing? Or are you trying to find out? If it's a specific style, it might be possible to just run all your lives as that. If you don't know, you're probably better off just doing pure lives and trying new things!

[Wickednisse]

As the title suggests, I am a returning player that has outdated gear and I also have a 3 cleric/1 paladin third life TR character that is outdated. If anyone could point me in the direction of a decent build that I could run so as not to be a complete burden on the party it would be awesome!

[C-Dog]

3 cleric/1 paladin third life TR character that is outdated... not to be a complete burden on the party...

This shouldn't be too hard, A "party healer" is no longer really a thing, but "a healer" is always appreciated and DPS is not as hard to find as it used to be. Cleric has been improved in that latter point, and Pali can be dovetailed in to many builds to get martial weapons and better saves.

Couple questions to make the job easier...

1) What order did you take Cleric 3/Pali 1?*

2) What are your 3 past lives?

3) What Tomes? (I assume at least 3 +2 Tomes from 1,750 favor?)

4) Any Epic PL's?

5) Is there a style of combat that you prefer, or one that you would rather avoid? Choices are melee/ranged/caster (and within melee, there's 2-hand, 2-weapon, and single-weapon). No guarantees that any/all will be viable, but it might be a starting point.

(* If you need help remembering the order, see https://ddowiki.com/page/Fred#Tips: )

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

Haven't played a rogue in many years.

Need some assistance creating a FOR FUN, FLAVOR build.

Since my son is playing (after years of watching me play), Id like to work with what he has already built.

ELF ROGUE. TWF. Int based. Vistani. Throwing. Melee over ranged (dont want many or any ranged feats) Loves the idea of sneak attack. Not sold on assassin.

Is build going going melee without assassin?

Also what are success with traps without going mech?

Lastly, compare this setup to going with a mech/vistani? (unless thats exactly what we are building

Remember this is a starter player, but excels at multitasking. Being OP is not the goal. Flavor is the goal, but in a way where synergies can be maximized wherever possible so he feels like he's kicking some ass and not getting roflstomped.

TY in advance!!