The Cannon Fodder Tank, The Kensai/Stalwart Build

[MrWizard]

I tank tod and rarely if ever get hit...and once in a while take some magic damage. Medals I rarely get unless I swing and not block.

I heal myself on norm now with my healing stick.
I find it is easier and ensures I do not die and cause havoc.

I find shield tanking works very well for me and my build. The 39 DR is incredible.

May not be everyones cup of tea, but I find it works quite well for me and this build. Anyone can change anything they want.

If i could have two stances on, I would love resilience for the +4 to saves while tanking also...

[Quikster]

I tank tod and rarely if ever get hit...and once in a while take some magic damage. Medals I rarely get unless I swing and not block.

I heal myself on norm now with my healing stick.
I find it is easier and ensures I do not die and cause havoc.

I find shield tanking works very well for me and my build. The 39 DR is incredible.

May not be everyones cup of tea, but I find it works quite well for me and this build. Anyone can change anything they want.

If i could have two stances on, I would love resilience for the +4 to saves while tanking also...

but someone is taking those medals. So the healing would be very similar.

Its cool though, wait till you have to chase horoth around the room

[worthful]

Which would you consider more important? combat expertise, or force of personality? I'm probably going for CE personally, everything attacks AC while only some things attack will

[MrWizard]

Which would you consider more important? combat expertise, or force of personality? I'm probably going for CE personally, everything attacks AC while only some things attack will

You could always make wis a dump stat or take up an inventory spot and go for it as best you can.

I found will saves seemed to happen a lot..hold person/monster, command, g command, slow, and tons of other spells. I like seeing that 'save'

but if you were not going to have one, I guess I would go with keeping CE and dropping force.

You could still be okay and get a fairly decent will save
wisdom
8 base + 6 item + 2 tome....then some exceptional and other stuff, but that would take up slots that you could have for others..so 16 wis seems your best bet.

will save at end game
6 + 3 wisdom + 3 SD stance + 5 resistance item + 4 GH + 1 ritual item + 2 head or spell of some kind = 24.
Not really bad and survivable.

Looks like a okay deal to do.

[Quikster]

Which would you consider more important? combat expertise, or force of personality? I'm probably going for CE personally, everything attacks AC while only some things attack will

If you just plan on raiding, you can get by without fop. If you plan on running epics, get yourself a will save, possibly even over ce with current ac gear in the game.

[worthful]

I'll be getting both FoP and CE - but only one of them next level (level 6.) I was wondering which I should get first, not which I should get over the other.

You guys keep mentioning "SD" -- did I miss what this actually is in the thread somewhere?


Quikster - I don't mean this mockingly, I mean this as a real question: Can you post a link to one of your builds that do DPS and break the 80 AC mark? Perhaps the Cannon Fodder build really is best for me, but basically I wanted an alt that could tank and I didn't want to deal with mana. Cannon Fodder seemed to be the best I could find on the forums, so if you have a different suggestion I'd love to read about it.

[Quikster]

I'll be getting both FoP and CE - but only one of them next level (level 6.) I was wondering which I should get first, not which I should get over the other.

You guys keep mentioning "SD" -- did I miss what this actually is in the thread somewhere?


Quikster - I don't mean this mockingly, I mean this as a real question: Can you post a link to one of your builds that do DPS and break the 80 AC mark? Perhaps the Cannon Fodder build really is best for me, but basically I wanted an alt that could tank and I didn't want to deal with mana. Cannon Fodder seemed to be the best I could find on the forums, so if you have a different suggestion I'd love to read about it.

no worries mate. I would say at low levels fop is more useful. You can turn on defensive fighting for the boost to ac when you need it, and things have much less hp so s&b is still viable. I usually pu ce after gtwf myself.

My build is fairly similar to this one, and this one is capable of doing decent damage (not high dps, but decent) while getting a high ac. My fighter is a 36 point build, with a bunch more gear than this one. There is a template up, but i am in the process of redoing it. I will post it when its ready.


edit:sd=stalwart defender

[worthful]

no worries mate. I would say at low levels fop is more useful. You can turn on defensive fighting for the boost to ac when you need it, and things have much less hp so s&b is still viable. I usually pu ce after gtwf myself.

s&b = sword and board?

[Quikster]

s&b = sword and board?

correct

[worthful]

So...I didn't realize it until I actually hit level 6...but you get two feats that level. Turns out I got both FoP and CE...

Generally with CE on my attack bonus is terrible. In the range of 2-4 or so...but I take 0 damage. Works out nicely. Can't wait to use it in a normal group rather than with a hireling and me slowly hacking things down.

[MrWizard]

So...I didn't realize it until I actually hit level 6...but you get two feats that level. Turns out I got both FoP and CE...

Generally with CE on my attack bonus is terrible. In the range of 2-4 or so...but I take 0 damage. Works out nicely. Can't wait to use it in a normal group rather than with a hireling and me slowly hacking things down.

That zero damage rocks, doesn't it? It is worth leaving on.

You just have to try to make up some of that -5 to hit, that's all.
Make sure you get the highest plus weapon you can.
Make sure you get heroism cast on you or with pot.
Make sure you have +4 strength item or a pot on during battle.

Try to get a destruction weapon to lower the to-hit needed and that alone should solve all your issues.
Try not to move(not spin, actually stepping) while fighting, that is -4 to hit.

Going into SD stance should get you some pluses too.


Enjoy the ride .....

[worthful]

I've noticed I do much better with a generic +4 than I do with a +1 flaming. You guys mentioned that PA is especially useful when you can hit things on a 2...is this again because I'm not using the right potions and buffs, or because currently I'm running on elite a lot (i'm still low enough for it to be easy.) or just because my BAB isn't high enough?


EDIT:

If you haven't caught on, I'm incredibly new to the fighter class. I'm also very afraid of making a character and leveling it just to find out it is missing some mandatory feat or some HP or whatever else and that my build is useless late game. That is why you're getting a barrage of questions about play style / stats etc etc...

I spent a few weeks reading before I even downloaded the game and made my cleric. Trying to do the same on this guy, but cleric is infinitely easier. Max wis, few metamagics here and there, win.

[MrWizard]

I've noticed I do much better with a generic +4 than I do with a +1 flaming. You guys mentioned that PA is especially useful when you can hit things on a 2...is this again because I'm not using the right potions and buffs, or because currently I'm running on elite a lot (i'm still low enough for it to be easy.) or just because my BAB isn't high enough?


EDIT:

If you haven't caught on, I'm incredibly new to the fighter class. I'm also very afraid of making a character and leveling it just to find out it is missing some mandatory feat or some HP or whatever else and that my build is useless late game. That is why you're getting a barrage of questions about play style / stats etc etc...

I spent a few weeks reading before I even downloaded the game and made my cleric. Trying to do the same on this guy, but cleric is infinitely easier. Max wis, few metamagics here and there, win.

If you just follow most builds on here, and I assume you are doing this one, you will be okay.
A problem with this build is you can survive in dungeons you normally will not (such as your elite stuff) easily...however these elite dungeons require some resources or twink gear to be effective (why you keep seeing 'misses' a lot).

To get a real feel for how good your toon is, go into a level appropriate quest on normal..you should be unstoppable.


It takes time to learn the game, the UI, what works and what does not, how to decide when to turtle up, run, or bang away.
You are probably running with a lot of new people who do not know about a lot of buffs they could throw on you or how to play their own toons.
This makes dungeons very difficult, especially elite, for even vets.

Just enjoy the experience. Any messups can be fixed later, but as long as you stay with the build you are on, you will be fine.

Once you get to 10th level plus, you will start to see more experienced groups, get better advice, obtain better gear, and be on your way to uber.

Power attack, if you are missing a lot, is not good to use. That extra 5 points you get on a swing is diluted by the misses. If you are going to use Power Attack, wait until you are in a situation where you can hit almost all the time or you end up losing huge amounts of your DPS for no reason at all. This is one of the reasons power attack was not included in this build, but the extra damage was added via feats and enhancments.

Plus, by having the high AC, you get sustainable dps. Sustainable means you can just keep swinging without stopping til they are dead. This is significant as people without that high ac may have to back off to heal and such, basically making their dps uselessly lower than yours. This sustainability far outweighs most DPS. AC is the way and allows non stop sustained dps.
You extra feats and enhancments help with your to hit and damage...your ac allows you to almost never stop.

[worthful]

is khopesh the best weapon all the way through, or is it better to switch to picks for the 4x on stuns?

[Quikster]

is khopesh the best weapon all the way through, or is it better to switch to picks for the 4x on stuns?

Khopesh is best. On epic content i use weighted 5% warhammers with a few kickers.

[worthful]

At level 6 with pots I've got a 40+ ac, I think I hit 44 with armor boost...

I ran some dungeon yesterday (forgot which) and someone in my group offered to tank. I asked what his AC was and he said 23. When I told him I had 40+ he promptly looked me up on my.ddo.com and called me a liar because it says my ac is only 25...

Apparently he also didn't notice that my.ddo also says my character is level 4, and that I didn't have a shield equipped...

[Quikster]

At level 6 with pots I've got a 40+ ac, I think I hit 44 with armor boost...

I ran some dungeon yesterday (forgot which) and someone in my group offered to tank. I asked what his AC was and he said 23. When I told him I had 40+ he promptly looked me up on my.ddo.com and called me a liar because it says my ac is only 25...

Apparently he also didn't notice that my.ddo also says my character is level 4, and that I didn't have a shield equipped...

I get stuff like that in pugs all the time.

Did a hound the other day. My guildie filled the group with no healer, and was going to switch. I said lets just do normal like this. Puggies started freaking out when we threw a few buffs at the top of the sub and jumped off. "What no healer?" was their mantra. The bard, myself, and a buddie on his paly healed the pups and had a good ol time Being able to buff to 40+str, 80+ intimidate, 90+ ac, and 40 umd is a potent combo in a fighter imo. It allows you to do a lot of things many groups cant do. Not superman, but a lot of fun to pretend sometimes

[MrWizard]

At level 6 with pots I've got a 40+ ac, I think I hit 44 with armor boost...

I ran some dungeon yesterday (forgot which) and someone in my group offered to tank. I asked what his AC was and he said 23. When I told him I had 40+ he promptly looked me up on my.ddo.com and called me a liar because it says my ac is only 25...

Apparently he also didn't notice that my.ddo also says my character is level 4, and that I didn't have a shield equipped...

at your level, and in those dungeons, you will probably rarely ever get hit.

It is addictive to play and not take any damage...cool isn't it?

[worthful]

It was pretty hilarious to run into rooms full of mobs, intim, then watch the idiots in my group get BETWEEN me and the mobs so they take the hits instead of me. After they fell over in half a second, i stood there and slowly whittled them down. After that experience I learned you intim then run a little bit so the group has to catch up and has no chance (unless they're trying to) of standing between you and the mobs.

[Emili]

is khopesh the best weapon all the way through, or is it better to switch to picks for the 4x on stuns?

In epic am lazy ... use weighted then switch back to khopeshes...