Revisiting paths: Builds for new players

[tihocan]

When would be the best time to splash the two Paladin levels if one was thinking of going that route?

Early, to benefit from them asap. Like L2 and L3.

And, what do you think of this? (...)

I think Cleave/Great Cleave is a viable option (that's why I mentioned it in Variants), although it is not enough to hold a group of monsters through DPS alone, so it's mostly useful to get initial aggro at the start of a fight. I doubt Whirlwind would make a big difference (because of cooldowns and inherent weakness of one-handed fighting), so I don't think it justifies the extra 3 feats.

[msmoomilk]

Your stalwart soldier path is missing its 8th lvl feat which i awesome is greater weapon focus(x)

[tihocan]

Your stalwart soldier path is missing its 8th lvl feat which i awesome is greater weapon focus(x)

Thanks! It wasn't the only feat missing either, it was caused by a bug in the script that transforms my raw build into forum code. And for the record, it's Improved Crit at L8 (I decided to skip on greater weapon focus).

[msmoomilk]

don't you need the dragonmark feats to unlock the intim enchancements?

[tihocan]

don't you need the dragonmark feats to unlock the intim enchancements?

Oops thanks a lot, you're right. I had never taken these enhancements myself and I forgot to check the prerequisites, I thought they were granted by the race, like some other skill enhancements.
I think I may have made the same mistake on some other builds, I'll make a note to double-check them... Thanks again!

[Zachski]

According to the compiled notes about Update 5, if I remember correctly, Acrobats will be able to add their Dex bonus as damage to their sneak attacks.

In that case, are you going to update the Acrobat?

[tihocan]

According to the compiled notes about Update 5, if I remember correctly, Acrobats will be able to add their Dex bonus as damage to their sneak attacks.

In that case, are you going to update the Acrobat?

I have no idea, I haven't looked at these release notes yet. I probably will if there is a significant benefit to it, but it's going to be hard if I want to keep a staff version. If it's just that (dex bonus to sneak attack damage), then it's likely I may just mention it for a dual wielding dex-based Acrobat rather than a staff user.

[Jasam01]

On a similar note, will you update the ninja spy build now that the ninja spy PrE is coming out?
Though, that might just consist of adding it to the enhancement list.

[tihocan]

On a similar note, will you update the ninja spy build now that the ninja spy PrE is coming out?
Though, that might just consist of adding it to the enhancement list.

I'll definitely look into it. I haven't really paid much attention to the upcoming stuff so I can't tell yet what's going to change.

[ryotsurugi]

I love all these builds. My biggest problem is just finding one I like and sticking to it. Probably why my highest level character is only level 3. Can't wait to see them all finished.

Had a question about Khopesh vs other exotics but found that answer in previous posts after re-reading them.

[gurslak]

Hi,

I tried the Warpriest of Siberys build last night as a new DDO but old PnP player and it didn't quite work out for me; Now I only got to the Korthos Wilds quests on the starting island and tier 5 of level one but I died numerous times.

I believe the reason for my death was my miserable hit rate in combat, now this may just be rubbish luck on the dice, but I thought taking the Fighter level first would be more beneficial, you get to use the better weapon from the start, have a better hit chance and it doesn't change the feat progression as you simply take the initial ones at level 1 rathe than 1 & 2. You do lose the ability to heal, but the island quests I soloed as a warrior aren't an issue on health.

Does this make sense or have I missed something?

[tihocan]

Hi,

I tried the Warpriest of Siberys build last night as a new DDO but old PnP player and it didn't quite work out for me; Now I only got to the Korthos Wilds quests on the starting island and tier 5 of level one but I died numerous times.

I believe the reason for my death was my miserable hit rate in combat, now this may just be rubbish luck on the dice, but I thought taking the Fighter level first would be more beneficial, you get to use the better weapon from the start, have a better hit chance and it doesn't change the feat progression as you simply take the initial ones at level 1 rathe than 1 & 2. You do lose the ability to heal, but the island quests I soloed as a warrior aren't an issue on health.

Does this make sense or have I missed something?

The reason for Cleric first was actually mostly to be able to heal yourself, and it looks like you needed it if you died multiple times
You shouldn't have trouble hitting stuff on Korthos with a L1 Cleric with 16 Str. If you do you are doing something wrong, like moving when attacking, turning on defensive fighting by mistake, or using a weapon you are not proficient with. Taking fighter would only give you +1 to-hit. Weapon proficiencies don't matter much at L1 since everything dies so fast, and a staff works fine if you want to use a two-handed weapon (while sword & board works fine too if you prefer higher AC).
Although starting as a L1 fighter is definitely ok as well (leveling from 1 to 2 is quite fast after all), it should actually be a bit harder than as a cleric.

[gurslak]

Yeah it's most likely a combination of me being a noob and just plain bad luck on the dice rolls, I certainly saw a ungodly amount of 1's being rolled. I'll run the warrior first concept tonight and let you know how it goes.

Either way these builds are great for us newbies and are a perfect start, keep up the great work!

[Chamcham]

So i've been following the AA Ranger path as an Elf, and at level 16, with one rank towards level 17 the only enhancements left for me to now get is conjure +5 and slayer arrows (and ofc the level 20 one). Now this makes me think.. Did you miss something? I did indeed double check it aswell, just curious!

I also found some stuff on The Font of Healing Cleric build, The fact that it's missing a dragon mark for one of the enhancements.

If I now am mistaken on the AA Ranger I do want to know what i've missed, if not i'm curious of what you belive is good. Ofcourse I can continue and getting what I think is good, but that ruins the whole "Following a build" thing.

Thanks, Cham~

[tihocan]

If I now am mistaken on the AA Ranger I do want to know what i've missed, if not i'm curious of what you belive is good. Ofcourse I can continue and getting what I think is good, but that ruins the whole "Following a build" thing.

Yes that's what you should do, I didn't provide full enhancement lists, on purpose. See the post linked in each build (direct link) for more information.

About the error with enhancement requiring a dragonmark, thanks for letting me know. I've actually been made aware of it a few days ago, and I know I need to go back to a few builds to fix these... It's somewhere in my TODO list

[Chamcham]

Yes that's what you should do, I didn't provide full enhancement lists, on purpose. See the post linked in each build (direct link) for more information.

About the error with enhancement requiring a dragonmark, thanks for letting me know. I've actually been made aware of it a few days ago, and I know I need to go back to a few builds to fix these... It's somewhere in my TODO list

Ah important, must've missed that when I read *caughs*. Thanks!

And it's nice that you are aware of it atleast, think I went with concentration instead of the dragonmark anyway.
Could check a few other builds if you want, even though I doubt it's needed.

[Winter_storm]

With Tihocan suggestion I tried to follow the best I can. Hes at lvl 5 right now but looking for insight.
here's the link http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php...02#post2973002



Winter

[cbxz666]

I rolled a Dark Blade from these builds a while ago, he's now lvl 11 and basically rolls through mobs as long as he has good support i.e. tank for aggro and cleric for heals. He's just moved away from armour to bracers/robe/enhancements and is working out very well as long as he is played correctly i.e. using tumble plus clickies to their maximum effectiveness and always using sneak attack plus diplomacy to divert attention. I've been finding it, particularly with the weapons I'm using (Flint on off-hand, Icy shortsword on main; or else dual Acid-rapiers) that it's sometimes easier just to stay in sneak while attacking rather than come out of sneak just to have to use Diplomacy to divert attention. I've come through entire quests almost without even being hit and yet with most kills at almost a 2:1 ratio to the next highest kill score in the group. He's definitely a toon I will take to level 20. Very good search/disable skills can pull off almost everything especially with good gear.
In regards to a previous poster's comments, I've also rolled a Warpriest of Siberys who is just to level 4 and basically can roll through pretty much everything at those lowbie levels as a slick self-healing killer and does a pretty good job of party-healing if the situation calls for. The original posted build works great as long as you take your main class first to get those benefits, add Fighter at 2nd.

[gurslak]

I've been looking at the Dark Blade path you posted and wondered if it would be viable to replace the level of Fighter with a level of Ranger instead? Perhaps go 1st level ranger, 2-20 Rogue. I understand you lose a feat, but you do gain favoured enemy, which I was thinking of putting into Undead, to help keep the damage up against the non-crittables. Selecting power attack and such later on would icrease the dps further.

Viable as melee dps with some nice trap claering ability or just gimped?

[tihocan]

I've been looking at the Dark Blade path you posted and wondered if it would be viable to replace the level of Fighter with a level of Ranger instead? Perhaps go 1st level ranger, 2-20 Rogue. I understand you lose a feat, but you do gain favoured enemy, which I was thinking of putting into Undead, to help keep the damage up against the non-crittables. Selecting power attack and such later on would icrease the dps further.

Viable as melee dps with some nice trap claering ability or just gimped?

It would be viable but one Favored Enemy isn't particularly useful in my opinion. It's a nice little bonus but not something I'd take a level of Ranger for. But if you do it, also consider adding one more Ranger level, for TWF / Rapid Shot.