Help with Str-Based Dual Wielding Build

[Phantomizer]

I made this character for a Str Based Dual Wielding build i was thinking of.

Race: Warforged.
Class: Ranger.
Base Stats: Str 16, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 6.
Skills: Concentration, Heal, Jump, Listen, Search, Spot.
Feats: Adamantine Body and Favored Enemy.

I just hit lvl 2, dual-wielding 2 weapons, same type (Battleaxes) i have an AB of +1 per hand, single weapon with shield gives me +5AB, not the best, but waaaaay better than +1 when dual wielding.

Anyone have any suggestions? or is a Str based dual wielding build destined to fail or at least remain crippled throughout the whole game?

Thanks!

[Absolute-Omniscience]

Strength based works great, the best builds are the strenght based ones. However I do not like your stat distrubution, way too high wisdom, and too low strength for a WF one.
One does not need 14 wisdom to cast all spells, well one needs it; but one can easily start with 8 wisdom and use a +6 item and gain 14 that way.
+6 stat items are very common, so I would suggest starting with 8.
Adamantine body is a nice feat at low levels, however it's wasted at higher, consider swapping it out as you progress through the levels.

At low levels, try to stick with a light weapon in offhand. The to hit matters too much, so just using a battle axe main hand (preferably something better though, like rapier or scimitar) and a hand axe in offhand (preferably something better though, like a kukri) will perform better.

[Phantomizer]

8 Wisdom won't really do to cast spells since what matters is the base sta which can only be increased with tomes, at least thats what i was told? items don't help me cast higher lvl spells.

Or is that info wrong? :\

[Monkey_Archer]

8 Wisdom won't really do to cast spells since what matters is the base sta which can only be increased with tomes, at least thats what i was told? items don't help me cast higher lvl spells.

Or is that info wrong? :\

Yes that info is wrong. You only need a 14 wisdom total. base wisdom has nothing to do with it.

So starting with 8 wisdom and using a +6 wisdom item will allow you to cast all ranger spells.'

However, if you take 1 monk level, you add wisdom to your ac. and then starting with 14 wisdom is actually a good idea.

[kinar]

8 Wisdom won't really do to cast spells since what matters is the base sta which can only be increased with tomes, at least thats what i was told? items don't help me cast higher lvl spells.

Or is that info wrong? :\

thats wrong. my tempest (ranger) barb that started with 8wis can cast just fine. I just drank a lot of owls wisdom potions while leveling up so that I didn't have to worry about swapping out a wis item...

[VKhaun]

You need to reroll from 10con IMO.
Use those wisdom points there and get it to 14+.

[Impaqt]

I made this character for a Str Based Dual Wielding build i was thinking of.

Race: Warforged.
Class: Ranger.
Base Stats: Str 16, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 6.
Skills: Concentration, Heal, Jump, Listen, Search, Spot.
Feats: Adamantine Body and Favored Enemy.

I just hit lvl 2, dual-wielding 2 weapons, same type (Battleaxes) i have an AB of +1 per hand, single weapon with shield gives me +5AB, not the best, but waaaaay better than +1 when dual wielding.

Anyone have any suggestions? or is a Str based dual wielding build destined to fail or at least remain crippled throughout the whole game?

Thanks!

STR is Fine, Dex Is Fine, Con is too Low and Wis is Too high.

Drop Wis down to 10 and put those points into CON.

Use a Light weapon in your off hand until you pick up Oversize TWF or are at least high enough level to absrb the penalty and still be able to hit effeciently.

Dont worry about your STR. 16 is absoutely fine. Powergaming Min/maxers always feel +1 is significantly more than +1 for some reason. go figure. the difference between 16 and 18 starting str is not noticeable to anyone except those going to the most uber highest dps int he game.

[Phantomizer]

Thanks for the imput, but the idea was to use non-light weapons, Battleaxes or Morningstars.

Also, won't the low Wisdom affect my SP? or would the Wisdom items fix that?

[jmonty]

Also, won't the low Wisdom affect my SP? or would the Wisdom items fix that?

wisdom items will give you more sp, but you can also get a sp weapon to carry, buff when you go into a quest, and then dump it.

[Kalanth]

I like the build overall, but there are some things that I would suggest changing. The reason your BAB is dropping from +5 with sword and board is because Battleaxe is a medium size weapon and does not dual wield with itself well. Two hand-axes would be a different story, or a battleaxe and rapier. There are other weapons that would be better than the Battleaxe as well, such as the Khopesh, but I am not sure if you want to invest the feats into that suggestion. I would say two feats you would definitely want to consider on this lay out are Oversized TWF and Improved Critical: Slashing.

I also agree that lowering the wisdom is a good idea. With a WF you can drop the wisdom to an 8 and boost up your Con to a 14. Get a +6 wisdom item, WF Con II, +3 Tome (+4 in Mod 9) and that will net you a 25 Con (26 in Mod 9). That 25 is a boost of 112 hp at level 16, and 26 is a boost of 160 hp at level 20. Take toughness in there, and maybe a few of the WF toughness enhancements and you could have a pretty decent HP total.

I would also lower that int from a 10 to an 8. Use those two additional points in something else. And option you could do is to start with: Str 16, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 6. You obtain a +6 Wis item, +2 - +4 Wis tome, and 1 monk and you can add a chunk to your AC as well. Then farm out items like the Chattering Ring and the character could be a bit of a beast. In fact this is kind of inspiring me to roll up one of there kinds of characters.

[jmonty]

plus if you are short manning a quest you can get a hireling cleric to give you dv's [divine vitality, which give you mana back], at higher levels at least.

[Impaqt]

Thanks for the imput, but the idea was to use non-light weapons, Battleaxes or Morningstars.

Also, won't the low Wisdom affect my SP? or would the Wisdom items fix that?

To effectively use Dual heavy weapons at low levels you need to have the Oversize Two Weapon Fighting feat.

having an idea for the build is fine, we are trying to help you develope that idea. If y ou dont want to know what your doing wrong, dont ask for advice.

Rangers dont need a whole lot of Spell Points. Items are availabale to suplement you spell points as well, Wisdom accounts for just a potion of your spell points. the difference in spell points at l20 is only about 40 points for 4 points of wisdom.

[BLAKROC]

Thanks for the imput, but the idea was to use non-light weapons, Battleaxes or Morningstars.

Also, won't the low Wisdom affect my SP? or would the Wisdom items fix that?

take overside twf as a feat then. and you should reroll it now and put the wis points into con like the others have suggested.

[SEMPER]

first off what lvl breakdown are u planning ?

all ranger ? ranger/fighter ? ranger/fighter/monk ? ranger/rogue?

i mean that makes a bit of a difference to your starting stats and those are just a few combinations that u can do, there are many more builds then those i stated

so lets say u are going all ranger then the 14 wis is too high id go with stats that look something like this :
18 str
14 dex
16 con
8 int
8 wis
8 cha

these can be changed around a bit more but if all your looking for is a str based dps ranger these are fine , if u want to have some intimidate u could go less str and a bit more cha , if u want to splash monk for more ac u can drop str and add it to wis but int really doesn't need to be higher then 8 unless u have more skills your looking to fill but i dont really seeing that being a problem cuz u get 5 per level and add a +2 int tome which would give u 6 every level

this is just a start cant really go farther with the build till u make the decision of it being a pure or a multiclass ranger

[Kalanth]

this is just a start cant really go farther with the build till u make the decision of it being a pure or a multiclass ranger

Good advice right here. An important thing is to remember is that if you multiclass you should have some form of focus, else the mish mash of classes tends to fall apart at the seems.

[kingfisher]

use a greataxe or maul (for skeles) through level 5 or so and you will hit more and do just as much damage. twf, even on a ranger is weak at low levels (1-4 especially). if you run above your level for greater xp this is much more pronounced.

[Phantomizer]

[SIZE=2]@Kalanth: I had no idea there was an Oversized TWF feat, what are the reqs for it?

@Impaqt: Didn't mean it like that, i just felt like i was being shepherded towards using light weapons, wanted to clear up that what i was looking for. I do appreciate the advice.

@SEMPER: The idea was to go pure Ranger, but if i'm looking at re-rolling, i'll be open to considering other options.
[/SIZE]

[78mackson]

OP doesn´t have 1750 in the first place, so stop post 32pointers just to look good ^^..

The nice thing about going ranger is that you can dump Dex.. if you dont plan to splash monk, then why bother? at GH(gianthold) n beyond your AC wont even be trashmob nice.. and even with low dex you can hit trashmob AC before GH....

high wisdom aint that bad, actually(will saves can be the weakness of rangers if they neglect it).. I rather have high wis then high dex on a ranger who really wont hit thrashmob AC anyway... (my sug: 18,10,14,8,12,6)

Dont duel wield til your lvl6 ranger, and can take tempest enhancement(feat: dodge, mobility, spring attack).. Great axe or Sword n board is way better til lvl6. If your lucky enough to pick up Carnifex from delera, then heck, use that one til you hit like lvl11..

[SEMPER]

no 32 pointer ? how about drow ?

what tomes do u have ?

if no drow , no 32 pointer , what class would u like to do so u have a base to start off of.

and do u want to be str ranger / or dex ranger ?

these will help as well in the decision making

[Kalanth]

@Kalanth: I had no idea there was an Oversized TWF feat, what are the reqs for it?

Oversized Two Weapon Fighting

Usage: Passive

When wielding a one handed weapon in your off-hand, you take penalties for fighting with two weapons as if you were wielding a light weapon in your off-hand.

Prereqs: Strength 12, Two Weapon Fighting

Here you go, straight from the DDO compendium.