Revisiting paths: Builds for new players

[Valien]

+1 rep for this.

Great guide. I'm bookmarking it for future reference. Right now 2 of my characters are run-of-the-mill builds based on the DDO guidelines. They are meh. I might rebuild my cleric with this guide in mind (I have a generic healer with the base Font of Healing guide).

Thanks for putting this together! Someone should wikify this too.

~V

[tihocan]

That being said this build definately needs some support, soloing is possible but to make life easier I look for a cleric most of the time. Yesterday had a team with a cleric, fighter, and myself. Dominated poor trogs and kobolds like it was our job.

I'll post back as I progress, and I'm looking forward to trying some of your other builds, keep up the good work.

Thanks, I'm definitely interested in feedback from people who actually play these builds, especially new players

I'm still constantly hesitating about the solo ratings I'm giving here. Whenever I add a new build I realize he is a bit better or a bit worse than another one to solo at some level, and I wonder what I should change... so really take this solo-ability thing with a grain of salt. Also, sometimes I forget to think as a new player, and give a good solo scrore to a build with which I would solo easily myself, but someone less familiar with the game may have trouble with it... So don't be suprised if I make multiple revisions to these solo ratings They should still give you a rough idea of what you're getting into though.

[tihocan]

+Thanks for putting this together! Someone should wikify this too.

Thanks, I'll probably want to wikify them some day indeed, though it's not my priority atm. If someone else wants to do it, that's fine too, but I'd suggest to do it for only one build, then I can write a little program to convert everything from my forum format to wiki. Will be much simpler

[Zee_Man]

Thanks, I'm definitely interested in feedback from people who actually play these builds, especially new players

I'm still constantly hesitating about the solo ratings I'm giving here. Whenever I add a new build I realize he is a bit better or a bit worse than another one to solo at some level, and I wonder what I should change... so really take this solo-ability thing with a grain of salt. Also, sometimes I forget to think as a new player, and give a good solo scrore to a build with which I would solo easily myself, but someone less familiar with the game may have trouble with it... So don't be suprised if I make multiple revisions to these solo ratings They should still give you a rough idea of what you're getting into though.

I'm a new player, and have been playing your warchanter. Up to level 6 atm and so far its very fun and very solo friendly. I love the combo of heal/buffs/2h. Much easier and more fun to play than my first char (wiz). Can't wait to see other classes done, I'll probably give a few different ones a go.

I haven't got into the swing of buying and using consumables yet, and I'm still a bit confused about how fascinate works exactly, but other than that its a lot of fun.

[tihocan]

I haven't got into the swing of buying and using consumables yet, and I'm still a bit confused about how fascinate works exactly, but other than that its a lot of fun.

Once your UMD gets high enough you can start spending tons on scrolls (raise dead / reconstruct / heal / restoration / teleport / fire shield...)

To fascinate, just click the fascinate icon, then start running in the mdidle of a group of monsters (you don't need to target anything, and you can combine with invisibility/displacement to avoid getting hurt too much while singing). They don't need to be in range when you click the icon, but you must not wait too much either (need a bit of practice to get perfect timing). Once you see the music notes above heads, start picking them one after the other. It's a huge help to solo some areas, so try it out

[Atoro87]

Figured I'd take advantage of the bonus XP this weekend to roll a dwarf vanguard fighter. So here's my impression:

I like the build and I'm only to level 3 so far. Survivability and speed of leveling is pretty good, compared to my rogue who has to play it low and slow to survive by himself.
One thing I'm noticing is a weakness towards spell damage to some extent but I think that's just until I put some enhancement points down on resitance. Another thing I'm noticing is that the greataxe isn't the most consitent damager, there's peaks and valleys. I'm sticking to axe because from the build specs it looks pretty good down the line but I wonder if other races would be better served with the greatsword? I know you mentioned the falchion in other two-hander builds, just wondered on that point.

As far as my halfling dark blade goes he's still hanging tough but as for soloing I'm skeptical as to it's over-all effectiveness on the combat side while he's still under 10. I love the little guy but right now he seems to need somebody big there to draw aggro and then re-draw after a sneak-attack, but from the progression of feats and enhancments it seems like this is more of an endgame build, or at least one with a steeper learning curve, especially considering I'm not really using my UMD to its fullest.

TL;DR?: I love both the builds and am working through being a newb! Thanks for the help!

PS: What's the max score on enhancements without item buffs? Trying to figure out what my scores should look like!

[tihocan]

Thanks for the feedback Atoro87 Rogue is definitely trickier to solo, the main advantage is you can have a decent AC (at least up to mid levels), and the ability to sneak through a quest. But the strong DPS situations of the build are (1) when someone else can pull aggro (if you're in a group, remember you can use diplomacy), (2) assassinate starting at L12, (3) the cool "auto-vorpal" effect once you reach L18, and (4) blinding effects (radiance weapons, radiance guard armor/items) for auto-sneak attack.
A Fighter's strength is definitely not the saves. Better kill those casters fast Weapon-wise, the axe will be superior as you level up, but in the meantime, it's true a falchion may be more effective (at low level a crit will pretty much insta-kill anything, even with just a x2 multiplier).

Not sure what you mean by "max score on enhancement without item buffs". If you mean the ability scores (Str / Dex / etc.), there is no max, and without item & spell buffs you usually can't get them very high (basically just base + level-up + tomes + enhancements + a few special class abilities).

[Atoro87]

Back again. While grinding favor I've been monkey-ing around with as many of the builds as possible, So far I've knocked out levels on the Flame, Vanguard, Savage, Dark Blade and Warchanter so I'm getting a fair apprecciation of different play styles, at least in terms of melee, and they're all solid in their own ways.

The things I spotted that gave made me wonder in the guide was on the Flame and Vanguard builds.

For the Flame, what is the reason behind taking follower of the sovereign host on a THF build? Is it to have a sword and board panic button?

On the Vanguard, since my stumpy axe swinger has taken over my rogues spot as my main atm, why Quickdrak at 20? My understanding is that that's for throwing weapons.

I'm gonna move on to the casters next I think, trying to hit the ground running in DDO haha.

[tihocan]

For the Flame, what is the reason behind taking follower of the sovereign host on a THF build? Is it to have a sword and board panic button?

It's a pre-req for Knight of the Chalice III.

On the Vanguard, since my stumpy axe swinger has taken over my rogues spot as my main atm, why Quickdrak at 20? My understanding is that that's for throwing weapons.

It's actually mostly to make it easier to switch weapons, for instance for Stunning Blow. I guess it would deserve an explanation in the tips section It's definitely not a very useful feat, but when you reach L20 there isn't really any useful feat worth taking. If anyone has a better suggestion, let me know! (I did put a note in the Variants with feats that may be swapped if one wants to).

[Tormaz]

I have a question.

I was looking over the warrior build since I am thinking of making one and noticed this..

Tips:
- At low level, wear the highest AC armor you can find (ideally [Mithral] Full Plate). Carry a shield for times when you need to save on healing costs.
- Later on, your AC will be too low to matter. This is when you can simply wear robes/outfits, which are faster to swap than regular armor.

Am I reading it correctly that at later levels a dps based Fighter will be wearing robes/outfits instead of plate?

[Malazarti]

This is just awesome work Tihocan. +1 rep!

[tihocan]

Am I reading it correctly that at later levels a dps based Fighter will be wearing robes/outfits instead of plate?

Yes, that's your best option, though you may wear armor too if you think it looks better on you and you don't care if it takes longer to swap (or just if you found armor with better effects than robe/outfit). But AC-wise, it won't make any difference. You'll always get hit with both

[mjllux]

you should have a list of builds you are doing next, so people know what is coming up soon

[KKDragonLord]

Mother Teresa would commend your effort if she were still alive to see it i am sure...
(except that she only ever played with Egomaniac builds)

+1 Rep Tihocan

[tihocan]

you should have a list of builds you are doing next, so people know what is coming up soon

Good point, I'll add that

[tihocan]

Ninja Spy (L20 Monk)

Concept: Offensive monk, with still potential for good Armor Class
Original path's flaws: Splitting level-up points between Dex and Str, not taking Weapon Finesse. The path is also a 30 pt. build, which is not a flaw in itself, but makes it impossible to reproduce with a custom build.
Main fixes: Converted to a Finesse build (although it may be slightly less damage against low AC targets, being Dex-based makes it possible to reach decent AC, and Air Stance is the best stance for offense). Also got rid of Combat Expertise because it is hard to fit with only 28 pt (a variant with it is proposed below).

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral, Chaotic Good, Neutral, Neutral Good, Lawful Neutral, Lawful Good

Stats and Race (28/32 pt):
........Drow.....Dwarf......Elf.....Halfling...Human...Warforged.
.Str.....14........14........14........12........14........14....
.Dex.....18........16........18........18........16........16....
.Con.....12........16........12........14........14........14....
.Int.....10........8.........8.........8.........8.........8.....
.Wis.....14......14/16.....14/16.....14/16.....14/16.....13/15...
.Cha.....10........6.........8.........8.........8.........8.....

Ability increase every 4 levels: All in Dex (except possibly Halfling, see note below).

Special note (Halfling) You will need 13 Str to obtain Power Attack when leveling to L6. It is best to use a +1 Str tome to meet this pre-requisite (most easily obtained on the Auction House or in the DDO store). If you cannot get a tome, you can either spend your L4 level-up stat point into Str instead of Dex, or start with 13 Str by taking Con down to 12 (or on a 32 pt build Wis to 15).

Skills, except Human and Drow: At character creation, get one rank in Tumble, max out Concentration and Spot, and spend the rest of your points into Balance. On further levels, keep Concentration and Spot maxed out, and spend extra points into Balance.
Skills, Human and Drow: Same, but also keep Use Magic Device maxed out.

Feats (by level), except Human: Two-Weapon Fighting (1), Stunning Fist (1), Weapon Finesse (2), Toughness (3), Path of Inevitable Dominion: Fists of Darkness (3), Dodge (6), Power Attack (6), Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (9), Improved Critical: Bludgeon (12), Greater Two-Weapon Fighting (15), Stunning Blow (18)
Feats (by level), Human: Two-Weapon Fighting (1), Stunning Fist (1), Toughness (1), Weapon Finesse (2), Weapon Focus: Blunt (3), Path of Inevitable Dominion: Fists of Darkness (3), Dodge (6), Power Attack (6), Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (9), Improved Critical: Bludgeon (12), Greater Two-Weapon Fighting (15), Stunning Blow (18)

For more information about picking enhancements please read this post.
Enhancements (Monk): Adept of Rain, Adept of Wind, All-Consuming Flame, Concentration I, Grandmaster of Storms, Improved Recovery II, Jump II, Master of Thunder, Ninja Spy II, Porous Soul, Serenity (capstone), Static Charge, Touch of Death, Tumble II, Unbalancing Strike, Way of the Patient Tortoise III, Winter's Touch, Wisdom II
Enhancements (Drow): Dexterity I, Racial Toughness II
Enhancements (Dwarf): Constitution I, Racial Toughness II, Spell Defense I
Enhancements (Elf): Dexterity I, Racial Toughness II
Enhancements (Halfling): Cunning II, Dexterity I, Guile III, Hero's Companion III, Luck (Fortitude) I, Racial Toughness II
Enhancements (Human): Adaptability Dexterity I, Improved Recovery I, Racial Toughness II, Racial Toughness II, Versatility III
Enhancements (Warforged): Constitution I, Healer's Friend II, Racial Toughness II

Soloability by level:
No hireling..: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
With hireling: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Tips:
- Your main weapon will be handwraps. Handwraps of Stunning are particularly useful in some content. But carry also some kamas to fight specific monsters on which your handwraps are less effective (like zombies that have DR/slash). Once you get the Ninja Spy enhancement, you can also start using shortswords if you find some good ones (but overall handwraps are more effective than shortswords, due to the faster attack rate of unarmed combat).
- Do not wear armor: use robes and outfits, and try to get armored bracers like the Black Widow Bracers from the Waterworks chain (in the meantime, you can rely on Mage Armor clickies). To max AC, you will also want an item with Protection on it, and Barkskin potions if you can afford them.
- You should be in Air Stance pretty much all the time, for the increased to-hit / reflex / AC / double strike chance.
- However, after grabbing Touch of Death, learn to switch to Fire Stance sometimes to regenerate Ki faster and land those deadly blows more often.
- Playing a monk requires a lot of button smashing, to take advantage of all your Ki special attacks (if this is something you do not enjoy, then Monk is probably not for you). Make sure you always upgrade your hotbar shortcuts with new attacks when picking new versions of enhancements. But also keep in mind that using various versions of the same attack (like Storm Strike I, II and III) can help you trigger finishing moves faster (avoiding cooldowns on individual attacks).
- This build has the potential to reach useful (even though not top-notch) AC at high level if you want to invest some time in getting the appropriate gear. So keep both Power Attack and Defensive Fighting in your hotbar, and switch between the two of them depending on the situation.
- After you get Ninja Spy I, you can go into sneak mode to regenerate Ki faster when there is not much action going on.
- At L7+, you gain Wholeness of Body to heal yourself up: switch to Ocean stance before using it, to get HPs back faster.

Variants:
- For higher AC, Combat Expertise (CE) is a feat worth taking (probably taken at L12 or L18, getting rid of Stunning Blow). However, CE requires 13 Int (base + tomes). With a +1 Int tome and 32 pt build, this is easily done (just use the 28 pt stats with +4 Int). On a 28 pt build, you may need to take down Con by 2 points, Str by 1 (not on Halfling unless you can get a +2 Str tome for Power Attack), and Dex by 1 to be able to reach 13 Int. Remember that you can also choose to rely on Defensive Fighting instead of CE (but it gives only +2 AC instead of +5). On a Human, Combat Expertise may also be taken at L3 instead of Weapon Focus: Blunt (possibly with Improved Trip instead of Stunning Blow if you enjoy tripping).
- Going Str-based (like the original Ninja Spy path) would work too, although overall Fire stance is weaker than Air stance. Keep in mind this means pretty much giving up on AC past the mid levels, and you will still need 17 Dex (counting only base score and tomes) to qualify for Improved and Greater Two-Weapon Fighting. The main advantage would be higher effectiveness of Stunning Blow / Trip (plus higher base damage, but this is at least partially offset by the lower hit rate). Note that Weapon Finesse should be dropped, but Dodge must be kept to qualify for Ninja Spy.
- One may want to go for Hide / Move Silently to better fit the "Ninja" concept, even though it does not bring much to such a build since you can still sneak without investing in these skills (and get the Ninja Spy benefits to sneak). If you still want these skills, on a Human or Drow, this could be achieved by splitting points in half between Spot and Balance and dropping UMD. On other races, besides splitting points between Spot and Balance, Int should be increased to 10 (at the cost of -2 Con on a 28 pt build) to be able to max out both Hide and Move Silently.
- Stunning Blow may not be very effective at L18 due this build having rather low Str, although it should be somewhat useful on a two-weapon fighting build with handwraps of Stunning. It may be swapped for another feat if you find something you like better.
- Special thanks to Brennie who wrote up an updated version of my old build before I did. I stole some stuff from his build

Color code: best to worst = green, yellow, orange, red

[Dragonwest]

Can some one help me , i donwload the game but i dont have an icon to lunch it

[tihocan]

Can some one help me , i donwload the game but i dont have an icon to lunch it

You are posting in the wrong thread (there is a tech assistance forum somewhere).

Check:
- your Games folder if running Vista
- find and run the Turbine Download Manager otherwise (if it's running already it'll have an icon you can click on in your System Tray)

[tihocan]

Beacon of Hope (L20 Favored Soul)

Concept: Healing-focused Favored Soul, with good offensive casting abilities, but weak in melee
Original path's flaws: Focus on Cha (making it a weak offensive caster), no Extend (which is very useful for short term buffs and Blade Barriers), a few weird choices in spell selection (like Banishment but no Blade Barrier, Symbold of Weakness but no Destruction...)
Main fixes: Made it a better offensive caster, switching the main stat to Wis and taking Spell Penetration instead of Improved Mental Toughness, ending up at L20 with +4 spell DC and +2 spell penetration (at the cost of about 235 less spell points), with more useful spells overall

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral, Chaotic Good, Neutral, Neutral Good, Lawful Neutral, Lawful Good

Stats and Race (28/32 pt):
........Drow.....Dwarf......Elf.....Halfling...Human...Warforged.
.Str.....9.........10.......9/10......9/10.......10........10....
.Dex.....10........8.........10........10.......9/10.......8.....
.Con.....13......15/16.......13........14........14......14/16...
.Int.....10........8.........8.........8.........8.........8.....
.Wis.....17......17/18.....17/18.....17/18.....17/18.......16....
.Cha.....16........13........14........14........14......12/13...

Ability increase every 4 levels: All in Wis.

Skills (except Human and Drow): Max out Concentration.
Skills (Human and Drow): Keep Concentration maxed out at all levels. At character creation, also get one rank (two skill points) into Tumble, and spend your last two skill points into Balance. On further levels, spend your extra skill point into Balance as well.

Feats (by level), except Human: Toughness (1), Favored by the Sovereign Host (1), Extend (3), Child of the Sovereign Host (3), Energy Resistance: Fire (5), Empower Healing (6), Quicken (9), Energy Resistance: Acid (10), Maximize (12), Beloved of the Sovereign Host (12), Energy Resistance: Electricity (15), Spell Penetration (15), Mental Toughness (18), Damage Reduction: Cold Iron (20)
Feats (by level), Human: Same, but add Mental Toughness at L1, and take Greater Spell Penetration at L18.

For more information about picking enhancements please read this post.
Enhancements (Favored Soul): Charisma I, Concentration I, Energy of the Scion II, Favored Soul Ascendency (capstone), Improved Spell Penetration I, Life Magic IV, Prayer of Incredible Life II, Prayer of Life II, Toughness II, Unyielding Sovereignty, Wand and Scroll Mastery II, Wisdom II
Enhancements (Drow): Racial Toughness II
Enhancements (Dwarf): Constitution I, Racial Toughness II, Spell Defense I
Enhancements (Elf): Racial Toughness II
Enhancements (Halfling): Hero's Companion III, Luck (Fortitude) I, Luck (Reflex) I, Racial Toughness II
Enhancements (Human): Adaptability Wisdom I, Improved Recovery I, Racial Toughness II
Enhancements (Warforged): Combat Training I, Constitution I, Hardiness I, Healer's Friend I, Racial Toughness II

Spells taken when leveling up.
Spells followed by brackets may be swapped for the spell given in brackets, at the character level also provided. Swapping spells is often a non-mandatory minor optimization, so you may decide not to do it if it is too expensive for you (you can also directly pick the spell that should be swapped to, but be careful that you may wish you had the other spell while leveling up).

• L1: Command [Summon Monster I at L13] / Cure Light Wounds [Protection from Evil at L11]
• L2: Bless [Remove Fear at L9]
• L3: Nightshield
• L4: Resist Energy
• L5: Cure Moderate Wounds [Eagle's Splendor at L12]
• L6: Searing Light
• L7: Prayer / Soundburst
• L8: Death Ward [Neutralize Poison at L16]
• L9: Aid, Mass / Freedom of Movement / Lesser Restoration
• L10: Raise Dead
• L11: Cure Light Wounds, Mass [True Seeing at L19] / Recitation / Remove Curse
• L12: Heal
• L13: Blade Barrier / Cure Critical Wounds / Greater Command
• L14: Destruction
• L15: Break Enchantment / Cure Moderate Wounds, Mass / Spell Resistance, Mass
• L16: Death Ward, Mass
• L17: Death Pact / Protection from Elements, Mass
• L18: Heal, Mass
• L19: Cure Critical Wounds, Mass / Implosion
• L20: True Resurrection

Soloability by level:
No hireling..: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
With hireling: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Tips:
- Remember that you need a Cha of at least (10 + spell level) to cast a spell. You can use items, enhancements, tomes and the Eagle's Splendor spell to meet this requirement.
- At some point your AC will not be good enough to avoid being hit, even on a 2. You can happily run around with two weapons (to boost your spells) and a good looking robe or vestment (faster to swap than armor).
- A healer's first priority is not to heal others, but to stay alive.
- As the party healer, you will be expected to be able to help with a number of situations. Since the Favored Soul spell selection is limited, make sure that you carry wands, potions or scrolls for: Remove Fear, Lesser Restoration, Remove Blindness, Remove Curse, Remove Disease, Neutralize Poison, Restoration (Greater Restoration later), True Seeing, Heroes' Feast. You may of course stop carrying these once you learn the same spells.
- Getting Eagle's splendor at L12 is for the very rare situation where your item giving a bonus to Cha may break, or more likely get hit by Disjunction (in some high level quest), so that being able to cast Eagle's Spendor on yourself will allow you to keep casting high level spells (a spell requires a Cha at least 10 + spell level to be cast).
- Getting Summon Monster I at L13 is for when you need a summoned creature for something specific, like managing aggro, or triggering some rune.

Variants:
- Mental Toughness can be handy, but players comfortable with spell point management and use of scrolls/wands may prefer to swap it out (taking e.g. Greater Spell Penetration or Empower spell for even stronger offensive casting).
- Overall, this build is meant to be a decent offensive spellcaster, but you could focus even more in that area without losing much healing-wise: Mental Toughness could be dropped (taking e.g. Greater Spell Penetration to overcome Spell Resistance more easily, Empower Spell for even stronger blade barriers, or Heighten to overall land more offensive spells in highest levels). Empower Healing can actually be dumped in favor of Empower Spell, taking advantage of the Favored Soul's Improved Empowering line of enhancements to alleviate the extra Spell Points cost (keeping in mind it will remain more costly than Empower Healing at lower level, and it will not affect your Heal and Mass Heal spells, which usually is not a big deal, but can be handy sometimes to heal warforged or damage undead). A more casting-focused Favored Sould build will be added to this guide in the future.
- If you want to fully maximize your offensive spell-casting ability, you may also start with 18 Wis even on a 28 pt build, dropping points from Dex/Str/Con. Be careful that low Str makes you more vulnerable to Str damage, and can lead to encumbrance issues (especially on Halflings).
- On the contrary, a Cha-focused build like the original path can still work for someone willing to totally give up offensive spellcasting (for people who may prefer a full support role). The main advantage is the gain in spell points (29 for every +2 Cha at L20). In such a situation, going Halfling and switching Toughness / Maximize / Spell Penetration for the Halfling dragonmarks will give the character even more healing power (if not Halfling, just take Improved Mental Toughness instead of Spell Penetration). If you go this route, at least be aware that the large majority of quests benefit from a healer who can do something else than just sit back and heal (and most people also find it more fun when they can contribute to kills).
- If you follow a more healing-focused variant as mentioned above, you should alter your spell selection to remove offensive spells that require a save, focusing more on buffs and healing spells.
- True Resurrection at L20 can be replaced by Energy Drain if you do not mind carrying Resurrection scrolls for in-combat raising.
- For a bit less healing power but more offensive fun, keep Mass Cure Light Wounds and swap Mass Cure Moderate Wounds with Cometfall at L19.
- This build is close in spirit to the Font of Healing Cleric path. In short, the Cleric is more versatile (thanks to the abiliity to swap spells at shrines), while the Favored Soul gets more spell points and at L20 gains some very useful Damage Reduction and free casting of Cure Light Wounds, making it more powerful overall.

Color code: best to worst = green, yellow, orange, red

[Tee-Bone]

warchanter Great build i am using it and at level 5 have had no issues as of yet.

One thing though in the build it says to get weapon focus:slashing at level3 That option never came up and at level 5 just hitting level 5 its still not a option as far as feats. Am i missing something here or confuesd? I even went and saw fred since i found out you can redo your feats? but still no weapon focus option.
Other than that i am liking the character.