28 point fighter/cleric build need advice.

[rocket1]

Please don't post: "don't do it" or "get 1750 favor"

I'm playing DDO for about another month, and that's it. It's a game I'm playing for a limited time, so 32 point builds will not be open to me (or I could run around getting favor like mad for a month and make a 32 point build just in time to stop playing. No thanks)

I have some restrictions:

1) 28 point build
2) I want Two handed Weapon fighting feat - Love using the great axe!
3) Dwarf
4) I want use of martial weapons. Money is tight and I'm tired of having the option to use a simple weapon and a shield OR to use a simple weapon and a shield. With martial weapons I can use 2 handers for damage! and buy a wider variety of cool elemental, maiming etc weapons that I can actually afford)

5) I want Wisdom as close to maxed as I can get because I don't mind sitting back and healing the group at all. I want enough strength that in a good group I can melee and hit stuff reasonably well and have some fun. Of course during boss fights and tricky encounters, quite happy to sit back and heal. I don't want to spend spell points on offense so Spell Pen and such are not important to me. I might get to take this guy to 16 and if so I'd like to be able to heal a party through normal and hard content. Elite sounds like it requires much more devotion to spell pen and DC checks, not to mention Spell Point requirements. I'm quite happy to take all healing types of enhancements to be a decent healer with little or no fighter boosts. The meleeing is fun, but miss miss miss isn't fun, and thus I need Strength,....just not sure how much. I was thinking of fighter at level 2 for the feat (This is where I'd take 2 handed weapons feat.)

So I have two questions for the experienced: 1) How can I distribute my starting stats to maximize my healing potential while having some melee fun once in a while. and 2) Which metamagic feats would be ESSENTIAL to be able to heal some difficult content (again, maybe not the elite stuff) (Note: I understand at some point Blade Barrier becomes important, so in the interest of casting this effectively, I'll need the feats to take this into consideration)

The highest cleric I have is lev 9 (Started in July and played around for a while with different classes before settling on cleric) and as such he started with 16 str, 10 con, 16 wisdom. Looking for others' opinions. Would love to hear from Aranticus and Impaqt if possible. In reading forums, one quickly realizes that there are people who cannot tolerate anything but min/max, pure classes, or 32 point builds. If those are your attitudes, quite frankly I'm really not interested in your feedback so please refrain from telling me what I cannot do. Hey, anyone can figure out how to spend 32 points. Spending 28 and making it work with these kinds of restrictions is harder. (and, in some ways, more fun I think.)

Thanks in advance for the replies.

[Aranticus]

bah! why list my name?!?!

anyways, here is my choice

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 2.90
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 16 Lawful Good Dwarf Male
(2 Fighter \ 14 Cleric) 
Hit Points: 289
Spell Points: 852 
BAB: 12\12\17\22
Fortitude: 16
Reflex: 4
Will: 13

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Stats          Modified Stats
Abilities        (Level 1)             (Level 16)
Strength             16                    20
Dexterity            10                    10
Constitution         16                    18
Intelligence          8                     8
Wisdom               16                    18
Charisma              6                     6

Level 1 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Two Handed Fighting

Level 2 (Cleric)

Level 3 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Extend Spell

Level 4 (Cleric)

Level 5 (Cleric)

Level 6 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons

Level 7 (Cleric)

Level 8 (Cleric)

Level 9 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Handed Fighting

Level 10 (Cleric)

Level 11 (Cleric)

Level 12 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack

Level 13 (Cleric)

Level 14 (Cleric)

Level 15 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Quicken Spell

Level 16 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Greater Two Handed Fighting
Enhancement: Dwarven Axe Attack I
Enhancement: Dwarven Axe Attack II
Enhancement: Dwarven Axe Damage I
Enhancement: Dwarven Axe Damage II
Enhancement: Dwarven Constitution I
Enhancement: Dwarven Constitution II
Enhancement: Dwarven Toughness I
Enhancement: Dwarven Toughness II
Enhancement: Dwarven Toughness III
Enhancement: Dwarven Toughness IV
Enhancement: Fighter Item Defense I
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life I
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life II
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life III
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life I
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life II
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life III
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic I
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic II
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic III
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic IV
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot I
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot II
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot III
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom I
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom II
Enhancement: Fighter Toughness I

strength: 16+4(lvl increase)+6(item) = 26 (+8 mod)
constitution: 16+2(enhancement)+6(item) = 24 (+7 mod)
wis: 16+2(enhancement)+6(item) = 24 (+7 mod)

hp: 289+64(con bonus)+30(gtr false life)+10(draconic vitality)+18(minos legens) = 411
attack bonus: 16(divine power)+3(divine favor)+8(str bonus)+1(weapon focus)+2(enhancement)+5(weapon)+2(recitation)+4(GH ) = 41
damage bonus: 12(str bonus)+3(divine favor)+2(enhancement)+5(weapon)+10(power attack)= 32

basically, batte mode is via cleric self buffs, mainly divine favor, divine power and recitation. a high wis is not needed as not going insta kill or nukage cleric role. sp is in excess of 1000 (item+24 wis), which is just sufficient for some heals as well as self buffs

ps: i think impaqt will do a better job than me

[Gunga]

Go straight cleric until you get unlock your 32 ptrs. Then multi-class.

[richieelias27]

Go straight cleric until you get unlock your 32 ptrs. Then multi-class.

-10 for reading and comprehension.


And regarding Aranticus' build, personally I'd take quicken at level 6 instead of weapon focus, then imp crit at 12 instead of power attack, and grab power attack last at 15 getting rid of weapon focus altogether. Just seems that improved crit slashing would be more useful than +1 AB. Taking quicken early would also allow you to put your 1 skill point into balance instead of concentration, which I feel is important since you'll be on the front line getting tripped alot, and a tripped cleric isnt healing anyone.

Just remember not to get close to things with dispell

[Angelus_dead]

4) I want use of martial weapons. Money is tight and I'm tired of having the option to use a simple weapon and a shield OR to use a simple weapon and a shield. With martial weapons I can use 2 handers for damage!

A pure cleric can spend AP to get Longsword proficiency. It's called Sovereign Host. Also, a pure cleric knows the quarterstaff, which is a two handed weapon. Also, very many melee characters spend a feat to learn khopesh. You can do that just as well as they can.

5) I want Wisdom as close to maxed as I can get because I don't mind sitting back and healing the group at all. I want enough strength that in a good group I can melee and hit stuff reasonably well and have some fun. Of course during boss fights and tricky encounters, quite happy to sit back and heal.

It's a misconception to think that healer clerics need high wisdom. A cleric build who dropped his starting wisdom from 18 to 14 would hardly lose any healing power at all. At level 16 when I de-equip +6 wisdom item I lose only 100 spellpoints. The only really important need for clerics to have high wisdom is to kill monsters with spells- and if you're effective fighting them with weapons, there's less need for you to hit them with spells.