Noob Alert: Calling all experts

[EvilGhandi]

Ok, I'm an admitted noob. Been playing about 1 month or so and have given no real thought to game mechanics as I've built my main. Quite frankly, I'm a bit intimidated by the sheer volume of information you need to process, and by the fact that so many people seem to have done so successfully.

I'm looking for advice on what direction to take my main. I'm an Elf 6/1 Ranger/Rogue. I added the rogue class at Lvl 3. I'm sure I've already made many bad choices in terms of skill point assignments and feat selections. My current base stats are:

STR 16
DEX 19
CON 14
INT 8
WIS 10
CHA 8

I've put most of my skillpoints into move silently , search and spot. I also recently spent a lot of coin and shards to remove a dragonmark feat and replace with a weapon specialization for Kopesh (don't ask why, it just looked cool and was able to get a +5 kopesh for a good price).

I don't want to re-roll, just looking for thoughts on how to improve going forward. I've had fun playing so far and have been moderately successful as a solo dungeon crawler. God bless wand whipping. If you need additional info about by build just let me know. Thanks for taking time to read and comment.

[gavagai]

Stats don't seem bad, though it's more helpful to get the base stats without EQ and enhancements, race, and your overall goals with the build.

First: as a level 6 ranger you should be looking to become a Tempest; you will appreciate the benefits. The bad news is that this requires 3 feats: Dodge, Mobility, and Spring Attack. If you are human, its possible to have the kopesh feat and these Tempest requirements; otherwise, you should make a plan to either swap enough feats to get tempest by level 9, when you get your next feat.

Second: The rogue level at 3. The three main reasons to splash rogue are (1) to get access to rogue skills, (2) sneak attack damage, and (3) evasion at level 2. As a ranger, you're getting evasion anyway at level 9, so forget no. 3. That leaves skills and SA.

Most take a level of rogue at level 1 to bump 4 points into as many rogue skills as possible, but it isn't necessary. However, if you take it after 1, it is best to target a handful of "crucial" rogue skills to max them out as cheaply as possible, since these skills will cost twice as much to train on non-rogue levels. These primary rogue skills are UMD, Disarm Device, and Open Locks. Unlike Spot, Search, and Move Silently, you need that rogue level to train Disarm Device and Open Locks; you can't train them with a ranger level if you didn't train them with your rogue level. And while you can invest your ranger skill points into UMD, it will cost twice as much to do so on a ranger level-up. IMO UMD is worth it for self-healing and raising dead at later levels, and you should ask yourself which other skills you can skimp on to bring UMD up.

So you will probably not get the full benefit of the rogue skills, either. That's not build-breaking; just make sure you don't mislead people into thinking you are trap-capable. And if there's a lesser reincarnation in your future, you can retool to get lots of oomph from your skill points.

Now you DO get the sneak attack bonus, and should take the Sneak Attack Training enhancement for extra damage.

Kopesh are great weapons. If you are human with 8 total feats, you can easily fit them in nicely. Otherwise, you may eventually have to make a trade-off between Kopesh and other useful ones. As you see, its easy to fill those 7 feats with Tempest requirements and other beneficial combat feats.

Required Feats
For Tempest: Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack
For Tempest III: OTWF, TWD, or Lightning Reflexes

Almost Required Feats for Rangers B/C They Are So Freaking Great:
Improved Crit: Slashing
Toughness
Power Attack or CE (if AC oriented)

But your ranger is has good base stats and is yours to customize. I don't think anyone will tell you to reroll if you take Kopesh instead of, say, Power Attack. They might if you took Bastard Sword or Kama.

EDIT: Noticed the big fat "ELF" in your post too late. Woops.

[Symar-FangofLloth]

I guess I want to know a couple things before I can give advice.
Why did you take a level of Rogue?
I assume you're focusing on melee, is this correct?

[TheDjinnFor]

Ok, I'm an admitted noob. Been playing about 1 month or so and have given no real thought to game mechanics as I've built my main. Quite frankly, I'm a bit intimidated by the sheer volume of information you need to process, and by the fact that so many people seem to have done so successfully.

I'm looking for advice on what direction to take my main. I'm an Elf 6/1 Ranger/Rogue. I added the rogue class at Lvl 3. I'm sure I've already made many bad choices in terms of skill point assignments and feat selections. My current base stats are:

STR 16
DEX 19
CON 14
INT 8
WIS 10
CHA 8

I've put most of my skillpoints into move silently , search and spot. I also recently spent a lot of coin and shards to remove a dragonmark feat and replace with a weapon specialization for Kopesh (don't ask why, it just looked cool and was able to get a +5 kopesh for a good price).

I don't want to re-roll, just looking for thoughts on how to improve going forward. I've had fun playing so far and have been moderately successful as a solo dungeon crawler. God bless wand whipping. If you need additional info about by build just let me know. Thanks for taking time to read and comment.

Some initial thoughts:

Good
-stats are okay; dex seems too high
-feats; khopesh proficiency gives you top DPS as a ranger

Bad
-skills are terrible; search, move silently, and spot aren't going to do you jack, but this isn't TOO important at the moment...
-splashed your first rogue level after level 1... not good

What's important at this time, if you want real build help, is a full list of your skills, feats, enhancements, et cetera, which you can do by downloading the character planner here. Fill it out to your current level, click forum export and copy+paste on the forums.

[Durion]

Lol, I was going to offer advice but it looks like you've been covered.

Bad thing about asking for "expert advice" on the forums? Hmmm, the 2006 forumite asks for a bit more information on what kind of build you want so they can help you. The 2 post EU "experts" automatically know what you want and point out how you are building it wrong.

EU FTW.

[EvilGhandi]

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far. You're feedback is helpful and appreciated. At the request of some who need a more complete picture I used the Character Planner and pasted the results below. I may be slightly off level to level on what I took when, but the end results are accurate.

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.18
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Lauros 
Level 7 Chaotic Neutral Elf Male
(1 Rogue \ 6 Ranger) 
Hit Points: 88
Spell Points: 25 
BAB: 6\6\11
Fortitude: 7
Reflex: 11
Will: 2

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 7)
Strength             16                    16
Dexterity            16                    18
Constitution         14                    14
Intelligence          8                     8
Wisdom               10                    11
Charisma              8                     8

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 7)
Balance               3                     4
Bluff                -1                    -1
Concentration         2                     2
Diplomacy            -1                    -1
Disable Device       n/a                    4
Haggle               -1                    -1
Heal                  0                     4
Hide                  7                    10
Intimidate           -1                    -1
Jump                  7                     7
Listen                3                     5
Move Silently         7                    10
Open Lock             n/a                   6
Perform              n/a                   n/a
Repair               -1                    -1
Search                3                    12
Spot                  1                     7
Swim                  3                     6
Tumble                n/a                   4.5
Use Magic Device     n/a                   n/a

Level 1 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Diehard
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Undead
Enhancement: Elven Enchantment Resistance I
Enhancement: Aerenal Elf Melee Damage I
Enhancement: Elven Perception I


Level 2 (Ranger)
Enhancement: Elven Ranged Damage I
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Damage I
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Defense I


Level 3 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Dodge
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity I
Enhancement: Rogue Faster Sneaking I
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training I


Level 4 (Ranger)
Enhancement: Aerenal Elf Melee Attack I
Enhancement: Elven Ranged Attack I


Level 5 (Ranger)
Enhancement: Rogue Open Lock I
Enhancement: Rogue Search I
Enhancement: Ranger Dexterity I


Level 6 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Khopesh
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Elemental
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Damage II


Level 7 (Ranger)