Can this be salvaged?

[Gypsy_Mouse]

After who knows how many months, I've toyed with the idea of bringing my fighter back into play.
Problem is I've never been happy with her build and I've rolled her up 3 times.

Other problem is, I CAN'T re-roll her again.
My slots are over the limit after the merges and I'm not going to delete to re-roll at this point.

I'm not looking for her to be the "ubarest evar!" since I'm not interested in ****ing matches, but rather something that's viable and won't bring shame to the fighter class.

I have plenty of shards to get rid of Feats as needed and have already planned on re-doing the enhancements.
I also have +1 tomes for everything but Con.


Level 8 Chaotic Good Human Fighter

Stats:

STR 18 +2 Feat bonuses = 20
DEX 14
CON 15
INT 13 (did this for Combat Expertise and Whirlwind)
WIS 10
CHA 8


Feats:

Cleave
Combat Expertise
Two Handed Fighting (I went with two handed weapons long time ago cuz I thought it was funny for a female non-dwarf fighter)
Imp. Two Handed Fighting
Mobility
Power Attack
Spring Attack
Tower Shield (don't know why I went with this since she's two hander at this point, will most likely remove)
Whirlwind (thinking of getting rid of this since I rarely used it)


I dunno if the Action Point Enhancements are needed info, but I'll list them anyway:

Action Boost Fighter Attack 3
Action Boost Haste 1
Armor Mastery 1
Armored Agility 2
Fighter Critical Accuracy 2
Trip 1
Flanking 1
Human Adaptability Strength 1
Item Defense 2
Intimidate 1
Jump 1
Stat: Fighter Strength 1



So what direction do I take with her? I don't know anything about multi-classing, so I'd be very leery of it without very explicit instruction.
She always seemed rather squishy and I quickly realized she was taking too much damage for my comfort without dishing out enough DPS to excuse it.
Another thing, please don't recommend raid loot. I know lots of people include that sort of thing in their build, but I rarely raid outside of Reaver and the requisite favor runs, so most likely I won't ever get anything.

If she's beyond hope without a full re-roll, it's ok. She's been a very good mule.

[Uska]

Well you cant drop tower shield fighters get that for free, but drop whirlwind and take tougness and the enhancements that go with it as you can you will gain a lot of hit points the fighter enhancments for that go up to 4 not sure what level is the 4th one but 1-4 will net you 50 hit points alone and thats not count what you get for the feat itself. Other then that others are more able to give you advice but I think you can do something with this build try and get some adamintine plate and I know you said no raid loot but run the dragon a few times(the von dragon) and try to get stonemeld plate as it has better dr then standard adamintine plate. you dont want fearsome armor really as then the mobs will run away and even with spring attack its a pain to chase them down to kill them. run XC a few times and get a planar gird and maybe a reaver ring, that not raid loot a few times in there even on normal and you should get those. If you were LG I would say paladin but since your not maybe a few levels in barb if so then forget the heavy armor. Going barb the rest of the way might boost your dps a bit.

[Grenfell]

She looks fine to me. Can you get a +2 dex tome from somewhere? Either favor or AH or questing on your mains?

If you could, I think you can go down the TWF line with piercing and khopesh and be just fine as a DPS fighter.

If not, I think you'll be fine as YAMDPS (Yet Another Melee DPS) character in just about any quest. I would still recommend dropping the THF line and getting both pierce and slash spec with Khopesh, even if you decide against the TWF line. In Piercing, all you really want is IC: Pierce for Banishing/Puncturing rapiers/SS/etc. for the Vale. Otherwise, looks just fine.

/gren

[Shaamis]

Either of the two suggestions above are what I would suggest, the core abilities you have set up are fine, and everything else is changeable.

If you still want to go with the two-handed fighting, def. drop tower shield, in favor of toughness.

If you have a good stable of greataxes, smiters, vorps, paralyzers, see how the great cleave and whirlwind work with it. If it doesnt work as you want, I'd say drop the whole feat tree for more staple feats like weapon focus, greater THF, more toughness, and weapon spec.

I also try to get a little roleplaying hook you like to have for this character. it makes it more fun for me when I have a characters roleplaying "Schtick" going on in my head, even if I don't vocalize it for others to hear.

that helps with my like-ability with my characters.

I hope you are able to put a nice new coat of paint on an old character, and make them fun again!

Sincerely,

[Gypsy_Mouse]

Well you cant drop tower shield fighters get that for free,

lol So that's why it's there? It's been so long since playing a fighter I'd not realized that. If I could still dump it in favor of something else, I'd probably do it. Well no worries on that then.

but drop whirlwind and take tougness and the enhancements that go with it as you can you will gain a lot of hit points the fighter enhancments for that go up to 4 not sure what level is the 4th one but 1-4 will net you 50 hit points alone and thats not count what you get for the feat itself.

Yeah I was never real happy with Whirlwind since it seems like it requires more ability from me than my fighter. Always seemed like by the time I got Intimidate off for the Whirlwind, half of them were dead by someone else's hand.

Going the Whirlwind route with the two handers is the reason I never took Toughness I think. Never had extra slots for it. So it'll get thrown in and hopefully keep her standing a little longer.

Other then that others are more able to give you advice but I think you can do something with this build try and get some adamintine plate and I know you said no raid loot but run the dragon a few times(the von dragon) and try to get stonemeld plate as it has better dr then standard adamintine plate. you dont want fearsome armor really as then the mobs will run away and even with spring attack its a pain to chase them down to kill them. run XC a few times and get a planar gird and maybe a reaver ring, that not raid loot a few times in there even on normal and you should get those. If you were LG I would say paladin but since your not maybe a few levels in barb if so then forget the heavy armor. Going barb the rest of the way might boost your dps a bit.

I'll keep an eye out for the Stonemeld. I know I'll be running the raids at least twice. Once for initial favor, then again for elite. But I never make it a point to run raids just to get loot that the Loot Gods have deemed unattainable for me. Which is just about all raid loot. Definitely never ever considered Fearsome armor as it seemed rather counterproductive.

I actually have an extra Planar Gird and Reaver Ring sitting in the bank, so those are no problem.

Barb the rest of the way? Hadn't really thought of that, but I might run it through the character generator and see how it looks for current end-game.

She looks fine to me. Can you get a +2 dex tome from somewhere? Either favor or AH or questing on your mains?

If you could, I think you can go down the TWF line with piercing and khopesh and be just fine as a DPS fighter.

If not, I think you'll be fine as YAMDPS (Yet Another Melee DPS) character in just about any quest. I would still recommend dropping the THF line and getting both pierce and slash spec with Khopesh, even if you decide against the TWF line. In Piercing, all you really want is IC: Pierce for Banishing/Puncturing rapiers/SS/etc. for the Vale. Otherwise, looks just fine.

/gren

I can try for the Dex tome. I sure as heck can't afford to get one from the AH unless someone is just dying to give it away for coppers. lol I don't have much luck with +2 tomes, but I'll keep her marked for one if I get it. Got a Dex once and gave it to my bard for when I go finesse with her.
I had thought of doing her 1750 tome as Strength. So it'll be a toss up between the two depending on if I get one from a quest before the favor mark.

TWF with khopesh. Interesting since it always seems like Paladins are the grandmasters of all things khopesh. lol
That means I have to start looking for khopeshes again and I haven't had one of those drop in ages. Not sure how easy it would be to go the khopesh route.

What about Kamas? I have a bunch of them in the bank for when Monks come out. Thing is, I doubt I'll play a monk.

Here I'd always thought of her as a standard sword and board fighter, master of the longsword, but schooled enough (RP aspect) with maces and the occasional longbow for use in a pinch. Then I started getting two handers left and right so went that line. Guess it's why I never looked outside the box at other weapons.
I'd considered a long time ago Maldini's weapon master build, but once I went two handed because of the weapons I was getting, it was out of the picture. I would probably just do that if I could re-roll.

Either of the two suggestions above are what I would suggest, the core abilities you have set up are fine, and everything else is changeable.

If you still want to go with the two-handed fighting, def. drop tower shield, in favor of toughness.

If you have a good stable of greataxes, smiters, vorps, paralyzers, see how the great cleave and whirlwind work with it. If it doesnt work as you want, I'd say drop the whole feat tree for more staple feats like weapon focus, greater THF, more toughness, and weapon spec.

Ok, so another vote for dropping the two handers. I still do have a few nice ones and a couple in the bank for higher levels that I'd be sad to sell and I'd miss her running around with her enormous "Final Fantasy" sword. But it's not the route I wanted to take her originally, just what I took because of the gear I ended up getting.

I don't have much in the way of the "epics" as the Loot Gods think it's funny to let everyone else get them and leave me in the cold. However, I'm always running loot runs with my two higher levels so it might happen someday!

I also try to get a little roleplaying hook you like to have for this character. it makes it more fun for me when I have a characters roleplaying "Schtick" going on in my head, even if I don't vocalize it for others to hear.

that helps with my like-ability with my characters.

I hope you are able to put a nice new coat of paint on an old character, and make them fun again!

Funny you should say that. Each of my characters starts off as an RP idea and I try to flesh them out as best as I can within the parameters of the game.
Oddly enough though, my fighter is the hardest one to do. What's really ironic is she was my main, my very first character rolled up on day 1 of the game. When I figured fighting was too hard, I went for my cleric thinking it would be easier. LOL Amazingly, playing a cleric did come easier for me. But I sure do miss beating the snot out of stuff!


Ok, so three questions from y'all's responses:


-What do you think of going Barbarian the rest of the way or just a few levels?
Though I see her being much more refined than that in her RP aspect. I have lots of full plate armor, no adamantine yet, so I'd have to start looking for good medium armor if I went barb.

-What about two weapon fighting with Kamas?
Granted, I don't have anything a level 8 can use right now, but at the rate they're dropping it might not be too hard to get them.
I don't know the intricacies of D&D weapons, so don't scoff at me if it's a stupid question.

-Do I need to put anything in her Con? Or Str the rest of the way?
It'd be easy enough to get a +1 tome for Con (or an enhancement) and then use a +6 Con item later to put her at 22 end-game if that's plenty. Then I can keep dumping level ups into Str.


I sure appreciate your help! Once she's settled the next step will be my long lost paladin (this is why I hesitate to do khopesh with the fighter).

Thanks!

[Blazer]

Ok, so three questions from y'all's responses:


-What do you think of going Barbarian the rest of the way or just a few levels?
Though I see her being much more refined than that in her RP aspect. I have lots of full plate armor, no adamantine yet, so I'd have to start looking for good medium armor if I went barb.

If you go barb the rest of the way, or just a few levels, you don't have to wear medium armor. The fighter levels will make you proficient in heavy armor and you shouldn't receive any penalties for wearing it. Instead of trying to get the Stonemeld Plate from VON, you could aim for the Fullplate of the Giants from Tempest Spine. The new version of this armor is the exact same stats as the VON armor (+4 FP, 5 DR/-) and hey, you don't have to wait 2 days 18 hours to run it again, nor do you have to reflag! Oh, and you can usually find a set or two on the AH as well. If not, I can get you a set - I think you're on Khyber.

-What about two weapon fighting with Kamas?
Granted, I don't have anything a level 8 can use right now, but at the rate they're dropping it might not be too hard to get them.
I don't know the intricacies of D&D weapons, so don't scoff at me if it's a stupid question.

TWF with kamas is rather silly. I'm trying to pull back from the min/max POV but dual wielding these things is a waste of time IMO. Save 'em for your monk. Low base damage, low crit multiplier. Maybe if you could make a green steel version...I dunno.

Do I need to put anything in her Con? Or Str the rest of the way?
It'd be easy enough to get a +1 tome for Con (or an enhancement) and then use a +6 Con item later to put her at 22 end-game if that's plenty. Then I can keep dumping level ups into Str.

If you rolled with 18 STR as your original post indicates, you will be - in essense - wasting build points by putting level up points anywhere else but STR. Use a human adaptability enhancement (or a barb one, if you do splash barb) for CON.

Good luck with the salvage project!