My hits miss alot

[DartanTR]

Hi, new F2P player who's going VIP after I return from vacation.

I was wondering, how do I increase my chances to hit? I feel like I'm missing at least 25% on elite mode. I am currently paladin/fighter 4/1 and following the Jaerlach build (http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=175058).

What gear should I be looking for in general to increase my chance to hit? My healerbot cleric girlfriend is having the same issues. I just want her to get the feel that she's actually contributing in a fight... or maybe she should just reroll hehe.

[Cedwin]

If you have Power Attack turned on, and you are missing a lot, turn it off until you get a higher strength to compensate. Power Attack gives you a -5 to your to-hit.

Basically, the higher your strength is, the higher your to-hit is going to be. So look for + Strength items. At level 5 you should be able to find a +2 strength item.

You can look for +3, +4 and +5 weapons which will help out as well, depending on what level you are. There are set rewards from Korthos, you get after completing Misery's peak, that will increase your to-hit, and also a set of goggles from Korthos that gives a +1 to-hit.

[Runyant]

Just a quick note--your gf's healbot cleric is not likely to hit very much on a level 5 elite quest. Not unless she has a really high strength, some wicked weapons, and mega-buffs. If she is level 5, on elite it is essentially a level 7 quest.

It might be useful to read some of D&D Pencil and Paper rules so you understand how the 'to hit' system works. That might help you make better choices for your own character. Every monster has a DC, or difficulty check number that must be met on a 20 sided die roll. That DC increases with the monster's armor, level, etc. Certain classes (i.e, fighters) get higher BAB (base attack bonus) as their level increases. A fighter's BAB is going to be much higher than a cleric's or a rogue.

[tfangel]

Running elite will also make monsters harder to hit, if it's a level 5 elite that makes the monsters above you in cr. In the same quest are you hitting a lot more on normal and hard? If so that explains it, but if not, then strength is probably too low.

[Letrii]

DC is for saving throws, physical attacks need to hit a creature's AC (Armor Class). You can see BAB (base attack bonus) on character sheet, add Str mod (or Dex mod if using weapon finesse), +x from weapon, and any other mods you might have from feats and enhancements. The result is your attack modifier (which oddly they decided to increase instead of decrease for iterative attacks, anyhoo). Game rolls a d20 and adds that modifier, if it meets or exceeds a creature's AC then you hit, if not you miss. They have also added grazing attacks, but I don't know anything about those.

[Live_Undead]

Just to clairify, running hard is +2 levels harder difficulty and elite is +5 levels harder difficulty. The +1 and 2 is for xp and loot purposes only.

[Aerniel]

take weapon finesse, specialize in shortswords or get weapons with finnesse on em, then bump up your dex.

or go the straight strength route

[Junts]

If you're having to-hit issues, you're probably using power attack or not using a very good weapon (if you intend to run elite a lot, I suggest picking up the highest plus weapon available to you at a broker .. like a +4 khopesh at lv 6, for example ..)

Your GF's healbot will really struggle in hitting if it has a starting strength below 14. It might be a good idea for her to make a more offensively based cleric build. You're not going to need a dedicated healbot with that character most of the time anyway (if you do take a lot of damage, its probably result of running a quest too hard for your level/equipment), since you're playing a very defensively-oriented character. You and a healbot cleric are more likely to run into firepower shortages than survivability shortages, especially as you level. If she were playing a melee or casting-oriented cleric build, she'll provide the AoE firepower you lack as her character grows up. Look into a 19/1 fighter or 18/2 monk build for her. Both have their own perks (the first tends to have a good starting str and melee solidly with good casting, the second will be incredibly survivable, capable of an ac that rivals yours, and be an incredible caster with evasion, but not do much in the way of weapon damage). IMO, the 2nd build would compliment yours a bit more (evasion is a defensive mechanism you lack, and sometimes more important than armor class), but both work quite well, and the first is easier to create and to play. I suspect your GF will get pretty bored just healing you as you level up, especially since you're never going to be an incredibly fast killer. If she can't do much more than heal you and throw the occaisional cc spell, she's gonna spend later instances standing around watching you hack down mobs a lot. A more durable, offensive cleric that can help whack on the cc'd mobs with a greataxe and/or kite most of them through a blade barrier when mob packs get too large and/or tank reflex-aoe spamming mobs instead of you is a more balancced tandem.

If you can get your hands on some platinum, stock up on points that help you hit, like heroism; its a really important buff. Rage for quests where your ac isn't as important can add a bit more, but if you are level 4-6 and trying to run hard/elite quests without barkskin, shield of faith, haste and heroism pots running all the time (to say nothing of house phiarlan +4 stat and resistance buffs), it will probably be too hard to be worth doing.

At low levels, the power of equipment and buffs drastically outweighs build .. if twinked and potioned and P buffed, even an 8 str cleric could melee a lot, but that will end pretty fast as you level.

An ac build tends to be very sensitive to equipment variations, so any time you find yourself struggling its probably because you just hit a level where new stuff (haste/heroism/+3 stuff at 4, barkskin/shield of faith +3 at 5, +4 stuff at 6, etc) became available that you don't have. Don't expect to push quests your level on elite if you aren't also on the cutting edge of equipment .. you may get through it, but it will take a long time and probably suck.

Oh, one last thing:

Put your tower shield away if you're using one, and don't touch one until level 8-10. The -2 to hit penalty isn't worth the additional armor class at your level. Get the best heavy shield you can find instead. Tower shields, like power attack and two-weapon fighting, tend to be for level 10-13 when to-hit spikes a lot due to the availability of more powerful buffs and gear.

Make sure you're using the goggles of insight!