Options for a Battlemage

[Gabrion]

I started playing DDO shortly after release, but stopped shortly after mod4 (with a short return to see the shroud in mod6). The last character I played was a WF Sorc 12/Fighter 2 - high STR/CON THF melee build. Back then the options were much more limited for a battlemage - if you wanted reconstruct you only had two extra levels to work with as a Sorc, or three as a Wizzy. I'm thinking about starting fresh leveling a new battlemage, but I've been out of the loop so long that I don't know the ins and out of all the current class enhancements and whatnot. So I'm here to ask the experts what kind of dips work well to fill out a battlemage in the current game? Below are some ideas I've come up with just from reading the compendium.

Note: Here are a few things that I'm looking for with this character.

1) WF Race
2) At least 12 levels of Sorc or 11 levels of Wiz
3) Prefer relatively high UMD (rogue or bard dip is tempting for this)
4) High durability - I think when I got to Sorc 14/Fighter 2 I had just over 400 HP. I don't know what's realistic in the current game, but the more the better.
5) Decent melee DPS. Hopefully this includes either full THF or TWF feats.

Sorc 12/Fighter 6/Bard 2
Fighter gives +2 STR, haste boost, Kensai I, and bonus feats. Bard gives UMD access, some minor buffs (focusing chant, and a few songs), and a few spell points. An alternative is Rogue 2 rather than Bard, which also gives UMD, but exchanges the other Bard benefits for evasion. I don't think I like that option because I doubt my reflex save will be very high. Replacing Sorcerer with 11 levels of Wizard would open Bard 3, which gives +1 attacks from song.

Sorc 12/Ranger 6/Bard 2
This would be a TWF option. Ranger gives two of the feats for free, Ram's might for dmg, Tempest, and some DEX. This would necessarily be a lower HP build though because more points need to be spent on DEX rather than CON. Rogue as a sub for bard here is more viable as a higher DEX build would fair better with evasion. Wiz sub still an option as well.

Sorc 12/Paladin 6/Rogue 2
Based on the old Batman builds (one of which was a favorite character of mine). I guess Paladins give some offensive perks now too, but the highlights would be UMD, high saves, and evasion. Don't know if this would be TWF or not.

These are just a few that came to mind for me, but I'm sure there are a lot more out there that people have had success with. I'm mostly looking for hints about filling up the 8 (or 9) non-sorc/wiz levels with class breaks that maximize character potential. Thanks for any tips.

[Aspenor]

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=182069

[spifflove]

wf 20 sorcerer

18 str
08 dex
18 con
08 intel
06 wis
12 char

1) greatax
3) extend
6) maximize
9) toughness
12) power attack
15) spell penetration
18) imp spell pen

[Gabrion]

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=182069

I did take a look at this, but I didn't fully understand the purpose of monk in the build. My understanding is you get evasion and a feat, but from looking at the compendium it looked like most of the good monk stuff was later down the line. Can you explain the benefit vs. rogue or even bard?

[DemonMage]

Most of the good monk stuff is in the first two levels.
Evasion
Wis->AC
Two free feats

What you get after that is really horrible for a long time.

[Gabrion]

Most of the good monk stuff is in the first two levels.
Evasion
Wis->AC
Two free feats

What you get after that is really horrible for a long time.

The AC doesn't seem to matter in this sort of build, but the two feats are nice as in evasion with the decent reflex save. So for this particular mix the two monk levels vs. the two rogue levels would pretty much come down to how much I value UMD I guess.

[Aspenor]

The AC doesn't seem to matter in this sort of build, but the two feats are nice as in evasion with the decent reflex save. So for this particular mix the two monk levels vs. the two rogue levels would pretty much come down to how much I value UMD I guess.

It also comes down to how much you value feats. The monk levels gave me evasion and let me squeek in Toughness and Power Attack. The build is extremely feat intensive. You have:
Extend Spell
Power Attack
EWP: Khopesh
TWF
Toughness
ITWF
OTWF
IC: Slash
GTWF
and heck, I'd like one more feat to take Quicken, but I don't have it. I'll drop IC: Slash when I make both Mineral II's and take Quicken.

As far as UMD goes, why would I need it? Can have raise dead clickies, can self-heal without using UMD, so why else bother? So I can heal fleshies? Why should I care?

[Kalundan]

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=182069

This build is definitely on my list to try. I just can't bear to make another character at the moment, but the next one I make will definitely be this beauty.

[Phidius]

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.06
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Gemstone 
Level 20 Lawful Good Warforged Male
(2 Monk \ 6 Ranger \ 12 Wizard) 
Hit Points: 299
Spell Points: 758 
BAB: 13\13\18\23
Fortitude: 17
Reflex: 13
Will: 13

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(32 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             16                    24
Dexterity            15                    19
Constitution         15                    20
Intelligence         11                    16
Wisdom               12                    16
Charisma              6                     8

Tomes Used
+1 Tome of Intelligence used at level 3
+2 Tome of Dexterity used at level 17
+3 Tome of Strength used at level 20 
+3 Tome of Constitution used at level 20
+3 Tome of Intelligence used at level 20
+3 Tome of Wisdom used at level 20
+2 Tome of Charisma used at level 20

Level 1 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Dodge
Feat: (Selected) Toughness

Level 2 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Extend Spell

Level 3 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Giant
Feat: (Selected) Mobility

Level 4 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: STR

Level 5 (Wizard)

Level 6 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Khopesh

Level 7 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Maximize Spell

Level 8 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: STR

Level 9 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Spring Attack

Level 10 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Power Attack

Level 11 (Ranger)

Level 12 (Ranger)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Selected) Oversized Two Weapon Fighting

Level 13 (Ranger)

Level 14 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Evil Outsider

Level 15 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Piercing Weapons

Level 16 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: STR

Level 17 (Wizard)

Level 18 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Weapon Fighting
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Quicken Spell

Level 19 (Wizard)

Level 20 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: STR

If you wanted to swap Monk with Rogue, you could just lose the Khopesh and Power Attack feats, and you'll have plenty of skill points to keep UMD maxed... even with a low charisma, you should be fine.

The ability to self-heal from Reconstruct scrolls really reduced the value of UMD for me. I agree with Aspenor, though - I have a cleric if I want to heal people

At low levels, the AC bonus from monk and the martial weapons from ranger were great for swinging 2-handed weapons, but I switched to TWF around level 12.

The only necessary tome is the +2 Dex at level 17 to qualify for GTWF, but the +1 Int is certainly nice to have at level 3.

If you're not in a guild or have a large circle of friends, expect to do a lot of soloing. I found quite a few people who understood what I was doing, but the majority of people got confused. Not a big deal, as this toon was good at soloing even before Mod 9.

I recommend a Concordant Opposition as your very first greensteel

[Gabrion]

It also comes down to how much you value feats. The monk levels gave me evasion and let me squeek in Toughness and Power Attack. The build is extremely feat intensive. You have:
Extend Spell
Power Attack
EWP: Khopesh
TWF
Toughness
ITWF
OTWF
IC: Slash
GTWF
and heck, I'd like one more feat to take Quicken, but I don't have it. I'll drop IC: Slash when I make both Mineral II's and take Quicken.

Ya I did notice after trying a few builds how hard it can be to fit all the feats in if using Pally rather than Ranger or Fighter. So far I'm thinking of your build as a different class from the others - it's the only one in which I would probably stick with Sorcerer over Wizard for the CHA synergy. For builds including Fighter or Ranger in place of Paladin, feats are much easier to come by - though with Ranger it's a wash if you want to qualify for Tempest.

One feat I will probably be going without is EWP: Kopesh. I'm not sure how far my DPS will be lagging as a result, but I'll probably be using rapiers.

As far as UMD goes, why would I need it? Can have raise dead clickies, can self-heal without using UMD, so why else bother? So I can heal fleshies? Why should I care?

You're probably right and I'm probably stuck in a time warp. Back in the day I couldn't stand playing character without it, but that's when access to scrolls gave you lots of tricks you couldn't (easily) do any other way. Plus really good items weren't as abundant so racial restrictions still sometimes came into play. I'll have to look at the full spell list though and see if there is anything in the current game I would really need/want that I couldn't easily access without UMD.

If you wanted to swap Monk with Rogue, you could just lose the Khopesh and Power Attack feats, and you'll have plenty of skill points to keep UMD maxed... even with a low charisma, you should be fine.

The ability to self-heal from Reconstruct scrolls really reduced the value of UMD for me. I agree with Aspenor, though - I have a cleric if I want to heal people

At low levels, the AC bonus from monk and the martial weapons from ranger were great for swinging 2-handed weapons, but I switched to TWF around level 12.

Thx for putting that together. I made something very similar using the character generator last night - though I think I went with Wiz 11/Ranger 6/Rogue 3. I'm not set though and one thing that bothers me is not having a **** ton of spell points. On my Sorc 14/Fighter 2 I think I had like 1200 or 1300 and while that was usually way more than needed, a snafu still resulted in burning resources.

On the rogue vs. monk topic, I originally overlooked sneak attack but I think it may deserve a second glance. 2d6 is an additional 7 dmg/attack, which is even better with TWF. I don't remember what the rogue enhancement is, but I think it's even a little better with that.

The only necessary tome is the +2 Dex at level 17 to qualify for GTWF, but the +1 Int is certainly nice to have at level 3.

Are tomes pretty easy to come by at this point? I saw them advertised as part of the DDO store, but haven't used it yet. Can I use my points to buy a +2 tome there?

If you're not in a guild or have a large circle of friends, expect to do a lot of soloing. I found quite a few people who understood what I was doing, but the majority of people got confused. Not a big deal, as this toon was good at soloing even before Mod 9.

Well I went through leveling one of these guys before, so I have a pretty good idea what it entails. I should be able to equip him for success at low levels and then by the time he starts to get some real good stuff (read: haste), hopefully grouping wont be too much of a problem.

I recommend a Concordant Opposition as your very first greensteel

Ya on my other battlemage I got the Torc from DQ and the top tier concordant opposition greensteel (or whichever one gave me back spell points sometimes when I got hit). Together they help a bit with longevity.

[Phidius]

Are tomes pretty easy to come by at this point? I saw them advertised as part of the DDO store, but haven't used it yet. Can I use my points to buy a +2 tome there?

You should be able to buy a +1 Int tome from the DDO store, and it's reasonable to get 1750 favor before you hit 18 for the +2 Dex. It's kinda hard to say how likely you are to pull one now that the cap is 20, as virtually all of my +2 tomes were pulled once I was capped. I'd hate to be sitting at level 17 waiting to get a +2 Dex before leveling, especially as how much better this build gets as it gets Quicken/GTWF at 18 and Reconstruct at 19th.

I like that 12 Wizard gives you an additional 5th and 6th level spell slots so I don't have to choose between Acid Fog and GH. I agree, though, that the extra 1d6 from rogue3 is tempting... I'm just glad that there's no similar temptation with monk3

The nice thing about Ranger is that you don't have to go Tempest - but I think 10% melee alacrity, +1 AC, +4 AC while tumbling (Docent of Defiance means this will happen a lot), and not getting the -4 moving penalty to your to-hit is well worth 3 feats... especially since you get 6 free feats with this build.

[spaarhawk]

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.06
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Gemstone 
Level 20 Lawful Good Warforged Male
(2 Monk \ 6 Ranger \ 12 Wizard) 
Hit Points: 299
Spell Points: 758 
BAB: 13\13\18\23
Fortitude: 17
Reflex: 13
Will: 13

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(32 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             16                    24
Dexterity            15                    19
Constitution         15                    20
Intelligence         11                    16
Wisdom               12                    16
Charisma              6                     8

Tomes Used
+1 Tome of Intelligence used at level 3
+2 Tome of Dexterity used at level 17
+3 Tome of Strength used at level 20 
+3 Tome of Constitution used at level 20
+3 Tome of Intelligence used at level 20
+3 Tome of Wisdom used at level 20
+2 Tome of Charisma used at level 20

Level 1 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Dodge
Feat: (Selected) Toughness

Level 2 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Extend Spell

Level 3 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Giant
Feat: (Selected) Mobility

Level 4 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: STR

Level 5 (Wizard)

Level 6 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Khopesh

Level 7 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Maximize Spell

Level 8 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: STR

Level 9 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Spring Attack

Level 10 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Power Attack

Level 11 (Ranger)

Level 12 (Ranger)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Selected) Oversized Two Weapon Fighting

Level 13 (Ranger)

Level 14 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Evil Outsider

Level 15 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Piercing Weapons

Level 16 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: STR

Level 17 (Wizard)

Level 18 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Weapon Fighting
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Quicken Spell

Level 19 (Wizard)

Level 20 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: STR

If you wanted to swap Monk with Rogue, you could just lose the Khopesh and Power Attack feats, and you'll have plenty of skill points to keep UMD maxed... even with a low charisma, you should be fine.

The ability to self-heal from Reconstruct scrolls really reduced the value of UMD for me. I agree with Aspenor, though - I have a cleric if I want to heal people

At low levels, the AC bonus from monk and the martial weapons from ranger were great for swinging 2-handed weapons, but I switched to TWF around level 12.

The only necessary tome is the +2 Dex at level 17 to qualify for GTWF, but the +1 Int is certainly nice to have at level 3.

If you're not in a guild or have a large circle of friends, expect to do a lot of soloing. I found quite a few people who understood what I was doing, but the majority of people got confused. Not a big deal, as this toon was good at soloing even before Mod 9.

I recommend a Concordant Opposition as your very first greensteel

Phid, what skills would you recommend for this build, especially solo?

[Phidius]

Phid, what skills would you recommend for this build, especially solo?

Whoops! I completely missed this question

I've posted more detail on this build (including skill points) here...

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=214937