Duo Build help please

[~erik371]

I have started playing DDO and will be running in a duo with a human cleric/wizard.

I want to be a tank/rogue type so I can tank/dps/and picklocks/devices etc.

For the life of me I can't figure out if I should be a Paly/rogue or a fighter/rogue?

Any suggestions will be much appreciated along with some build help/ideas.

This game due to multiclassing is VERY difficult to figure out. I have spent hours reading and am lost.

Thanks in advance.

:-)

[Jondallar]

pally rogue is in my (biased) opinion more effective for duoing, because you have the ability to heal others. Some might say take lvls in fighter also. I am against this as you get more mana for buffs ect as a paladin, 3 or 4 lvls of rogue dispersed 1 starting and 2nd around lvl 6, and then 10th should allow you to get high enough skills to be fully functional as a rogue and a paladin. I would recommend going human and starting with 14 10 10 12 8 14 (approx) for stats and go human for the extra feat and skill point every level.

[Vra]

I would reccomend splitting up the responsibilities in another way to benefit more from ability points

1 person: go wiz/rogue - mainly wiz(to take advantage of the maxed int, the rogue suddenly gets a ton of skillpts, also - insightfull reflexes(new feat) lets you use int instead of dex for reflex save, making this build even easier to manage statpoint wise )
this guy can cc/charm and DPS while dodging through traps and disabling them
2-4 lvls of rogue is suffecient depending on items and game experience(easier to make sure that you are fully cabable as a rogue with a more rogue lvls, seasoned DDO players might decide to go 1-2 lvls og rogue because they have much better gear stoked up already)
max out int, get a lil wisdom(for the search skill) and some con for survivability - rest is whatever you want(remember dex if you decide to go without the insightfull reflexes feat)

2. person: go cleric/tanktype mainly cleric with a few lvls of either fighter(for the feats) pally(for saves and LoH and wand usage) barb(faster movement and a lil rage) or ranger(for bow str,twf and wand usage)
this person will be the tank(make sure to get the intimidate skill to save yer more squishy buddy), the main debuffer(some really nasty debuffs in the cleric spell arsenal actually - as well as instakill spells and of course a MASSIVE amount of heal spells and buffs)
with a few buffs the cleric can actually be a VERY effecient tank, (and its way easier to play a non heal-bot cleric in a duo group than in regular pugs where people expect you to babysit them when they fall and hurt themselves())
1-3 lvls of the tank type is sufficient - I would try to only go 1 lvl because you miss out on spellselection if you take more, and all a clerictank really needs is weapon proffeciency
focus on high wis, high str, semi high con and as high a dex you can(depending on the armor you want to use) <-- this one is definately the most stat-points consuming build of the two

this way you'll have:
a caster with high int(equals high spell DC) casting spells and is able to pick locks and disable traps
a tank with the ability to rez and debuff enemies(as well as heal/buff both of you massively)

a sidenote could be: go WF both of you, let the wiz be the healer/cc'er/DPS'er and let the cleric be the tank/debuffer/rez'er

I'm just now trying out this excact duo with a good frind of mine, and we went WF to try them out(none of us played WF before)

[Jondallar]

What Vra says is good, if starting from scratch go starting level rogue, then wizard from then on, and then the other character could be cleric, with 1 level of paladin mixed in some where early, lvl 3 or 4. The Pal/Cleric stats should focus on wisdom, strength,con/cha... with int and dex as dump stats

[Vra]

oh yes, if the cleric takes pally as "tank class" he needs cha as well for the saves

if he takes fighter/barb no special stat points is needed, boost dex a bit if you go fighter and plan for high AC

if he takes ranger for twf either go high dex to get the following twf feats( I wouldnt do that) or go str/con as before for standard tank with a bit twf

the key for this tank imo is to be able to survive and deal a fair amount of damg meanwhile, thus tfw, thf and ranged are halfway useless most of the time, what you need when your caster gets aggro is a guy with a shield and a weapon and the intimidate skill - he can be cleric, fighter, barb, pally or a mix of theese, or if you have a good build bard and ranger can be viable options as well