Help finding my calling

[Anamaul]

Hey guys.

A few things you may wish to know before you extend some help on my issue.

I am hopeless at re-rolling toons over and over in the attempt to find the one that hits my fancy that i enjoy playing and to be quite honest this game is a LOT more difficult to understand and follow as far as customisation of character construction is concerned.

What i was hoping for was if i can tell you all what kind of character over what games i have played in the past, you may be able to offer me some options based on what i've played before.

Typically i have chosen casting type characters (Bard, Enchanter from EQ 1 and 2 / Warlock, Priest, Druid from WoW ) but all i have seemed to have rolled so far are melee based toons in DDO since i got the impression from the forums that they are simpler to understand for a new character.

I tend to play one toon solidly once i find the one, in an attempt to master it.

So far i have tried low level toons of each of the builds that i have read up on.

A bard, Archon type fighter/rogue, a monk and a cleric. i was always to worried to try a wizard or sorc in the fear of screwing it up or from information lending the idea that they are for the more advanced player.

The kind of character i would like to play is a heavy support toon that has some solo ability in the time away from grouping up with others. The bard from EQ is quite similar to the bard in DDO in the sense that it cant melee all that well and has songs that can fill just about any party member albeit not as well as they pure counterpart. A character that works well and is wanted in groups is what i would be after. I'm very much a team player.

I was thinking perhaps a bard, cleric or wiz/sorc might be what i am after since from what i have read they have a lot of utility to other party members via buffs and heals or by debuffing the monsters to aid the party. I am however limited to a 28 point build but and i'm unsure what is going to be viable for me to try since i am obviously poor being new to the game and limited experience.

Just wanted to see what others can offer me to try to better limit myself to the role i want to fill.

If anyone has some links to information or builds or are prepared to put together a level by level build for me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Anamaul]

I have been leaning towards a bard as my first character, due to my love of the class from EQ1. Great utility and some spell casting/melee ability. Like i mentioned i would love to be a party player and so after a bit of research i thought a buffbot/backup healer might be the order of the day.

Would love some input on the build.

Level 20 Neutral Good Human Female (20 Bard)
Hit Points: 222
Spell Points: 908
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 8
Reflex: 15
Will: 11

Strength 10
Dexterity 16
Constitution 14
Intelligence 8
Wisdom 8
Charisma 16

All future points spent on Cha.


Level 1 (Bard) Feat: (Selected) Spell Focus: Enchantment
Feat: (Human Bonus) Toughness


Level 2 (Bard)


Level 3 (Bard) Feat: (Selected) Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Repeating Heavy Crossbow


Level 4 (Bard)


Level 5 (Bard)


Level 6 (Bard) Feat: (Selected) Extend Spell


Level 7 (Bard)


Level 8 (Bard)


Level 9 (Bard) Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Focus: Enchantment


Level 10 (Bard)


Level 11 (Bard)


Level 12 (Bard) Feat: (Selected) Heighten Spell


Level 13 (Bard)


Level 14 (Bard)


Level 15 (Bard) Feat: (Selected) Spell Penetration


Level 16 (Bard)


Level 17 (Bard)


Level 18 (Bard) Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Penetration


Level 19 (Bard)


Level 20 (Bard) Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage I
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage II
Enhancement: Bard Inspired Damage III
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song I
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song II
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song III
Enhancement: Bard Lingering Song IV
Enhancement: Bard Spellsinger I
Enhancement: Bard Muscial Prodigy
Enhancement: Human Adaptability Charisma I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Bard Concentration I
Enhancement: Bard Concentration II
Enhancement: Bard Lyric of Song I
Enhancement: Bard Lyric of Incredible Song I
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic I
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic II
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic III
Enhancement: Bard Song Magic IV
Enhancement: Bard Improved Spell Penetration I
Enhancement: Bard Improved Spell Penetration II
Enhancement: Bard Improved Spell Penetration III
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music I
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music II
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music III
Enhancement: Bard Energy of the Music IV
Enhancement: Bard Charisma I
Enhancement: Bard Charisma II
Enhancement: Bard Wand Mastery I
Enhancement: Bard Wand Mastery II
Enhancement: Bard Wand Mastery III
Enhancement: Bard Wand Mastery IV

I thought that with buffing and spot healing/CC i would be left to add something else to the mission. That was the idea of taking the prof: Repeating X-bow to lob bolts in my time between my normal duties.

Let me know what you guys think.

[Kriogen]

Bard is good.

With the char you have, play abit more so you get 400 overall favor and unlock Drow race. It doesn't take much to do that.

Drow is perfect for a Bard-ish char if you don't have 32 point build. Drow get +2 Dex, +2 Int and +2 Cha.

Your idea will work. It's a classic repeater Bard. I would swap some feats to get Empower Heal or Maximize for cure spells.

My favorite bard builds are TWF based bard/rogue hybrids. Balanced/str based, full TWF, spells used for buffs and heals, if crowd control is required, i use Fascinate song, functional rogue-ish skills.

[Anamaul]

Well i have drow, monk and WF unlocked that i bought while i was experimenting with other builds that required them.

If you have a favorite or two that you'd like to share, i'd really appreciate it.

I like the idea of the bard and so would like to see a few of your ideas.

Also if you can suggest anything else for a buffing/support role. I'm not stuck on bard and will consider clerics, arcane casters for their debuffs and utility, rogue for trapsmiths etc...

Just keep in mine that i'm still new and i'm restricted to 28 points (+WF +drow +monk)

Cheers.

[LordMond]

Your choice of server might have some bearing on the replies.

On Orien, where I play, there is a distinct lack of Clerics at low- to mid-levels to the point that my Warchanter Bard has been asked to be main healer for a group around her level (she's 7th). On older servers this might not be a problem because of a higher player population and thus (presumably) more alts for the players, but it wouldn't surprise me if Cannith (the other newer server) had similar problems.

Now the thing is....a Bard CAN heal pretty doggone well, especially if they have gear that helps increase healing (or has invested in Enhancements which do so). If the group is pretty sharp (a guild group or a better than average PuG), you can make it work. Crowd Control, another thing the Bard does well, seems to be considered an afterhought- if that- by most players (and to be honest the game isn't designed to take advantage of CC abilities- most fights are over too quickly).

Bottom line: I do enjoy playing my Bard even if she occasionally has to fill a role which she is not optimally designed to do.