Is Wielding Sword and Dagger Viable?

[TheKeeper1981]

Heyla and well met!

I'm trying to build a cleric to help support my husband as he builds up his own characters (my main character, a monk, is level 8, while most of his are barely level 4; when I ask him, he'll very happily switch to his own level 7 cleric to help me out on my own quests, so I'd very much like to return the favor), but I've never used a cleric, before, just a ranger, a monk, and (on very few occasions) a rogue. For the sake of maintaining my interest in this character, I was thinking that I may want to try a build inspired by a character from a Mercedes Lackey novel, a priestess who wielded sword and dagger on the battlefield. However, I have no idea how well such an idea might work in DDO practice. I'm hoping for advice from the more experienced cleric players, here, as my husband simply gave me a very blank look before giving me this puzzled shrug when I suggested this idea to him (yes, we're both fairly new to DDO, although he's more adventurous when experimenting with new classes; me, I enjoyed my ranger, but when I bought the monk class after a week of playing, I never looked back!).

For reference, I have access to 32-point build characters and the monk class. I do not have access to Drow, Warforged, or Favored Soul. Humans are very much my preferred race.

Thank you, greatly, for any and all assistance!

TheKeeper1981

[captain1z]

There are a few ways you could do it and many of them need the spell "Divine Power" to be successful.

First the 2 weapon fighting feat needs to be added to a cleric, you can do that with either a dex of 15 or splashing 2 levels of ranger...... but I wouldnt do both.

A human gets an extra feat so thats an option


and an elf gets bonuses with longswords so dagger (or kukri) and longsword become an option.

make sure you dont sacrifice con or cripple your ability to heal.

best option imo is

high str, low dex cleric 18/ ranger 2.

with divine power and other cleric buffs you should be able to fight well in short spurts.


the 1337 option would be cleric 18/ monk 2 high AC via dex and wisdom using kamas and evasion (elf, halfling or human)

[TheKeeper1981]

There are a few ways you could do it and many of them need the spell "Divine Power" to be successful.

First the 2 weapon fighting feat needs to be added to a cleric, you can do that with either a dex of 15 or splashing 2 levels of ranger...... but I wouldnt do both.

A human gets an extra feat so thats an option


and an elf gets bonuses with longswords so dagger (or kukri) and longsword become an option.

make sure you dont sacrifice con or cripple your ability to heal.

best option imo is

high str, low dex cleric 18/ ranger 2.

with divine power and other cleric buffs you should be able to fight well in short spurts.


the 1337 option would be cleric 18/ monk 2 high AC via dex and wisdom using kamas and evasion (elf, halfling or human)

Hm... I really, really love the monk class. The extra AC from wisdom seems to really compliment the fact that I need a high wisdom stat, anyhow, as a cleric. However, the ranger/cleric combo looks really nice, as it means fewer things for me to worry about, as a beginner in the cleric class. I'll likely go with the latter option. How low is low dex, and how high is high str? Something like 16 str and 10 dex?

Thanks for your input! Much appreciated!

[captain1z]

as a cleric 18/ranger 2 going

str 16 (6 item) 22
dex 10
con 14 (6 item) 20
wis 18 (3 class, 5 level ups, 6 item) 32
int 8
cha 8

seems ok to me as ranger gets you 2 weapon anyway. Divine power gives you the BAB of a fighter so we are talking +26 to hit at 20th before buffs and weapons and 31-40 after (standard fighter would have +30 so you are 4 behind). Plate and hvy fort would be the order of the day and you would need to watch your aggro but you would be a fully capable cleric as well. An elf with a longsword or scimitar and a short sword would have a better to-hit but a human could have an extra feat for improved critical or toughness both of which would be of use to you. Empowered healing, extend, mental toughness & improved mental toughness are all good feats.


as a 18 cleric/2 monk going

str 12 (6 item) 18
dex 14 (6 item, 1 level up, 1 tome) 22
con 14 (6 item) 20
int 8
wis 17 (3 class, 4 level up, 6 item) 30
cha 8

gives you a +16 to your base 10 AC for 26 +5 (pro item) 31 +4-8 (armored bracers) 35-39 add barkskin pot +3 = 38-42 + shroud item = 42-46 ....base AC minimal effort with no help from paladins, rangers or bards but you could hit AC 60 ish. 2weapon fighting, toughness, dodge, empowered healing, mental toughness, improved mental toughness and extend are all possible feats to take. Damage with kamas is not great at all................ the 2 classes have synergy but are highly dependant on gear and low on dps.

Tough choices........... I'd talk it over with guildies/friends or just do your homework. Make sure you can have fun with whatever you make.

[TheKeeper1981]

as a cleric 18/ranger 2 going

str 16 (6 item) 22
dex 10
con 14 (6 item) 20
wis 18 (3 class, 5 level ups, 6 item) 32
int 8
cha 8

seems ok to me as ranger gets you 2 weapon anyway. Divine power gives you the BAB of a fighter so we are talking +26 to hit at 20th before buffs and weapons and 31-40 after (standard fighter would have +30 so you are 4 behind). Plate and hvy fort would be the order of the day and you would need to watch your aggro but you would be a fully capable cleric as well. An elf with a longsword or scimitar and a short sword would have a better to-hit but a human could have an extra feat for improved critical or toughness both of which would be of use to you. Empowered healing, extend, mental toughness & improved mental toughness are all good feats.


as a 18 cleric/2 monk going

str 12 (6 item) 18
dex 14 (6 item, 1 level up, 1 tome) 22
con 14 (6 item) 20
int 8
wis 17 (3 class, 4 level up, 6 item) 30
cha 8

gives you a +16 to your base 10 AC for 26 +5 (pro item) 31 +4-8 (armored bracers) 35-39 add barkskin pot +3 = 38-42 + shroud item = 42-46 ....base AC minimal effort with no help from paladins, rangers or bards but you could hit AC 60 ish. 2weapon fighting, toughness, dodge, empowered healing, mental toughness, improved mental toughness and extend are all possible feats to take. Damage with kamas is not great at all................ the 2 classes have synergy but are highly dependant on gear and low on dps.

Tough choices........... I'd talk it over with guildies/friends or just do your homework. Make sure you can have fun with whatever you make.

I feel kinda proud that my build for my ranger cleric is actually pretty close to yours (I gave her 16 wis, and 12 int; I'm not sure why, but I'm really obssessing over skill points; I figure I'll eventuallly get over it, but until then, I figure I gotta go with it, until I learn I can live without it). I feel like I'm actually learning the game. I've got the character slots to play around with both build types, and figure out which one I enjoy playing best. Thank you, so much, for taking the time to give me a really great place to start!

[Tumarek]

Yeah either ranger or Fighter to get access to the 2 weapon fighting feats and sword proficency. human fits good because if you want all 3 feats (2wf i2wf g2wf) youll be low on the cleric ones.

If you decide to take all of them (-> do good damage in combat) you need a dex of 15 for the first one and a dex of 17 for the last 2 feats.

if you dont want to be too melee focused just stay pure cleric, take the enhancement Follower of the Silver Flame I (http://ddowiki.com/page/Cleric_enhancements) and the two weapon fighting feat. That give you some melee damage and you can be a full caster.

starting stats could be like this for the pure caster:

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.10
DDO Character Planner Home Page


                  Starting          
Abilities        Base Stats         
(32 Point)       (Level 1)          
Strength             10             
Dexterity            15             
Constitution         14             
Intelligence          8             
Wisdom               16             
Charisma             14             

or swap the charisman for the strength... depends what you like more