Revisiting paths: Builds for new players

[tihocan]

Enjoying the dark blade build so far, but I'm confused why you have both damage boost and haste boost. I know skill boost will be useful on hard traps/heal scrolls, but I'm confused as to why I need both damage and haste. Is one more useful in a certain situation? I was considering getting simply haste IV and maybe a few enhancements in the spot skill since I'm still a bit low level.

Damage Boost II is a prereq for Assassin I, unfortunately.

[Fluffyburrito]

Oh okay, that's extremely good to know, thanks. I was going to take haste instead b/c I liked it so much better but now I suppose I must take it.

[shawnvw]

You're doing great work here, tihocan. I can't wait to see your rebuild for the barbarian Bastion of the Outlands.

Seriously. I can't wait. I was hoping to have a 4th level Drow Bastion ready by Monday night.

I'm especially looking forward to its ability to withstand scads of damage. I'm not asking you to rush to complete your build, but I'd like to know what you consider the original build's "flaws" to be. I'll pound out a version for my own use, and keep an eye out for your official version.

Thanks.

[Statham]

Well, the instructions tell you exactly what to do, but I understand it may not necessarily be obvious for a new player. I guess I could rephrase it a bit differently. But basically, just do exactly what is said (max Concentration, get 1 rank in Tumble and spend everything else into Balance), i.e.:
- At character creation, 4 skill points into Concentration, 2 in Tumble, 2 in Balance
- At next levels, 1 skill point into Concentration, 1 into Balance

It's the "- At next levels, 1 skill point into Concentration, 1 into Balance" that isn't specified in the build and isn't clear to a new player. If I follow what the build says then at every level I'd be trying to "Max out Concentration, get one rank in Tumble and spend the rest into Balance" and that obviously isn't possible. =)

Another issue I discovered with this build is that taking the Improved Two-Handed Fighting feat isn't possible without putting at least 1 Increase Ability point into Strength (3 points for Halfling) because the ITHF feat requires 17 Strength and the strength points gained through enhancements don't count towards meeting the requirement. My solution was to spend my first Increase Ability point into Strength (the rest would go into Wisdom). You could wait until level 12 to get the Strength but it seems to me that getting that point of Strength earlier would benefit this build more because at lower levels you don't really have much in terms of offensive spells so you're doing mostly melee fighting.

Thoughts?

[tihocan]

If I follow what the build says then at every level I'd be trying to "Max out Concentration, get one rank in Tumble and spend the rest into Balance" and that obviously isn't possible. =)

Ok I see how you could misunderstand it that way. I'll improve the wording, thanks

Another issue I discovered with this build is that taking the Improved Two-Handed Fighting feat isn't possible without putting at least 1 Increase Ability point into Strength (3 points for Halfling) because the ITHF feat requires 17 Strength and the strength points gained through enhancements don't count towards meeting the requirement. My solution was to spend my first Increase Ability point into Strength (the rest would go into Wisdom). You could wait until level 12 to get the Strength but it seems to me that getting that point of Strength earlier would benefit this build more because at lower levels you don't really have much in terms of offensive spells so you're doing mostly melee fighting.

Thoughts?

It's what I get for not plugging my builds into the character planner, I'm going to make stupid mistakes like this one every now and then Thanks a lot for pointing it out, and sorry you had to be the one to figure it out...
I wouldn't spend a level-up on Str, it kinda defeats the purpose of keeping Wis as primary focus.
I'll be fixing this shortly. Thanks again!

[tihocan]

You're doing great work here, tihocan. I can't wait to see your rebuild for the barbarian Bastion of the Outlands.

Seriously. I can't wait. I was hoping to have a 4th level Drow Bastion ready by Monday night.

I'm especially looking forward to its ability to withstand scads of damage. I'm not asking you to rush to complete your build, but I'd like to know what you consider the original build's "flaws" to be. I'll pound out a version for my own use, and keep an eye out for your official version.

Thanks.

I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with Bastion. If I don't totally give up on it, it'll probably be very close to the Savage of the Wild build, with something like Toughness for everyone and a bit more Con.
The pre-made Bastion path is IMO the worst path in the game, an abomination whose only purpose is to sell Reincarnation Hearts in the store.
Basically, noone cares to play [with] a Barbarian who has tons of HPs but half the DPS of a properly built one.

[lorkar]

i have 2 questions.
first: can i remove the barbarian level from the warchanter build and still have success?
second: can u recommend me a RP build to a 19 Wiz/1 Fighter or 1 paladin.. please xD

i see that the elf prefered barb builds were not yours tihocan
i just want to thank you for creating this guide, make me understood lots of aspects of this game
without this maybe i would have lost my precious time.
i'm looking forward to see more builds

[tihocan]

i have 2 questions.
first: can i remove the barbarian level from the warchanter build and still have success?
second: can u recommend me a RP build to a 19 Wiz/1 Fighter or 1 paladin.. please xD

1. Yes, but if you're not replacing it with Fighter or Ranger, you'll have to cast Master's Touch to use two-handed weapons properly, which can be annoying.
2. Not really, I don't know any I can point you to. But basically go WF, good Str / Con / Int (with main stat being Int), some minimum melee feats (Power Attack / Improved Crit, possibly some of the THF feats) and the most important metamagics (Extend / Empower / Maximize / Heighten / Quicken) and you should be fine.

[Irinis]

i have 2 questions.
first: can i remove the barbarian level from the warchanter build and still have success?

Just removing the Barbarian level, you will still have martial weapons from the Fighter level. You can replace the Barb level with a second Fighter level if you want.

Unless you meant you want to go pure 20 Bard - in which case you would need to use Master's Touch spell to use any martial weapons as Tihocan said.

There was some talk about a change to Master's Touch in u5 that I hope doesn't go through. If it does I would HIGHLY recommend every Warchanter to splash a level of Fighter.
Depending on what happens to the feat Greater Two Handed Fighting in u5 I might also recommend taking Stunning Blow or Maximize instead.

[tihocan]

Just removing the Barbarian level, you will still have martial weapons from the Fighter level. You can replace the Barb level with a second Fighter level if you want.

Unless you meant you want to go pure 20 Bard - in which case you would need to use Master's Touch spell to use any martial weapons as Tihocan said.

There was some talk about a change to Master's Touch in u5 that I hope doesn't go through. If it does I would HIGHLY recommend every Warchanter to splash a level of Fighter.
Depending on what happens to the feat Greater Two Handed Fighting in u5 I might also recommend taking Stunning Blow or Maximize instead.

Thanks Irinis, I should really go back and read my builds before answering questions, I forgot there was a Fighter level too

[lorkar]

Thanks Irinis, I should really go back and read my builds before answering questions, I forgot there was a Fighter level too

i don't like barbarians that sing XD
anyways just want to conclude: 1 level of Fgt or 2?
thanks for the info but i think that a warrior wizard is a bad idea, even to RP, because ill RP a weakling, since my character was a human or half-elf, not WF.

[tihocan]

i don't like barbarians that sing XD
anyways just want to conclude: 1 level of Fgt or 2?

2. You gain +1 Str, one feat, +1 Fort, +4 HPs at the cost of 25 spell points and 1 6th level spell.

[Irinis]

i don't like barbarians that sing XD
anyways just want to conclude: 1 level of Fgt or 2?

Splashing always sacrifices something, however once you've sacrificed the capstone (which is fine to do on a melee bard) then it's better to go 18/2 or 18/1/1 than 19/1 because of what you can gain from the splash being better than 19 Bard. 18 levels of Bard will mean your character may still be viable if the devs ever bring out Tier 3 on PrEs, however some people (like me) make deeper splashes to gain even more melee capability. Axesinger build is a great one for a deeper splash.

[lorkar]

Splashing always sacrifices something, however once you've sacrificed the capstone (which is fine to do on a melee bard) then it's better to go 18/2 or 18/1/1 than 19/1 because of what you can gain from the splash being better than 19 Bard. 18 levels of Bard will mean your character may still be viable if the devs ever bring out Tier 3 on PrEs, however some people (like me) make deeper splashes to gain even more melee capability. Axesinger build is a great one for a deeper splash.

hey buddy thx, do u have opinions for the fighter mage concept xD?

[shawnvw]

I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with Bastion. If I don't totally give up on it, it'll probably be very close to the Savage of the Wild build, with something like Toughness for everyone and a bit more Con.
The pre-made Bastion path is IMO the worst path in the game, an abomination whose only purpose is to sell Reincarnation Hearts in the store.
Basically, noone cares to play [with] a Barbarian who has tons of HPs but half the DPS of a properly built one.

Gee, dude, don't hold back. How do you *really* feel about it?

Seriously, here's my build at 4th level. (I also have 5 unspent point for Enhancements.) How would you suggest I proceed through level 9 (where I'd add my 4th feat)?

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.34
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Calloneth Druadanni
Level 4 Chaotic Good Drow Female
(4 Barbarian) 
Hit Points: 96
Spell Points: 0 
BAB: 4\4
Fortitude: 7
Reflex: 1
Will: 1

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 4)
Strength             17                    17
Dexterity            10                    10
Constitution         15                    17
Intelligence         10                    10
Wisdom               10                    10
Charisma             10                    10

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

Level 1 (Barbarian)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness
Enhancement: Barbarian Damage Boost I
Enhancement: Barbarian Toughness I


Level 2 (Barbarian)


Level 3 (Barbarian)
Feat: (Selected) Two Handed Fighting


Level 4 (Barbarian)
Enhancement: Barbarian Improved Damage Reduction I
Enhancement: Barbarian Extend Rage I
Enhancement: Barbarian Extra Rage I
Enhancement: Barbarian Hardy Rage I
Enhancement: Barbarian Power Rage I
Enhancement: Barbarian Constitution I

[tihocan]

Seriously, here's my build at 4th level. (I also have 5 unspent point for Enhancements.) How would you suggest I proceed through level 9 (where I'd add my 4th feat)?

Do something like the Savage of the Wild. You're just going to have to shift feats and delay the Frenzied Berzerker enhancements as a result. So something like:
6 - Power Attack
9 - Improved Crit
12 - Cleave
15 - ITHF
18 - GTHF

[Irinis]

hey buddy thx, do u have opinions for the fighter mage concept xD?

Not my area of experience in the game, sorry bud.

[Ikeas]

I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with Bastion. If I don't totally give up on it, it'll probably be very close to the Savage of the Wild build, with something like Toughness for everyone and a bit more Con.
The pre-made Bastion path is IMO the worst path in the game, an abomination whose only purpose is to sell Reincarnation Hearts in the store.
Basically, noone cares to play [with] a Barbarian who has tons of HPs but half the DPS of a properly built one.

First of all, want to say that you are doing an awesome work, which I'm enjoying a lot. Thanks for your efforts

I would please told you about not giving up the Bastion. The first time I log in DDO I wanted to make a HP/DR based barbarian tank, but I realized I didn't know how. I played a lot of melee types, and I still want a build for a good hate-tank barbarian. I found one I liked a lot, the Guard Berserker, a Mediocresurgeon's idea (http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=203101). Basically, I found it is a hate/Intimidate barbarian who takes Toughness soon, cares about HP with a higher CON (18-20 in Mediocresurgeon's build) and maximices the DR as far as it can.

Perhaps you can base your Bastion path in that build? I think that feels like the Bastion's spirit - a tough barbarian who can whitstand a lot of damage.

I hope it would be helpful... and thanks again!

[tihocan]

First of all, want to say that you are doing an awesome work, which I'm enjoying a lot. Thanks for your efforts

I would please told you about not giving up the Bastion. The first time I log in DDO I wanted to make a HP/DR based barbarian tank, but I realized I didn't know how. I played a lot of melee types, and I still want a build for a good hate-tank barbarian. I found one I liked a lot, the Guard Berserker, a Mediocresurgeon's idea (http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=203101). Basically, I found it is a hate/Intimidate barbarian who takes Toughness soon, cares about HP with a higher CON (18-20 in Mediocresurgeon's build) and maximices the DR as far as it can.

Perhaps you can base your Bastion path in that build? I think that feels like the Bastion's spirit - a tough barbarian who can whitstand a lot of damage.

I hope it would be helpful... and thanks again!

Well, it's basically what I said: pretty much the same build as Savage of the Wild, but enforcing Toughness and with just a bit more Con.
Sadly, there aren't many viable ways to build a pure barbarian. Once you decide between THF and TWF, there isn't much freedom left except to tweak a few details.
If you really want to be "fancy", replace ITHF/GTHF with two more Toughness feats. It's not worth it, but it won't break the build either.

[Dafalgan]

Hello i'm currently following Warpriest of Siberys path as my first char ever on DDO .
I already got to level 3 with it but I'm wondering what 3 spells should i prepare and what should i use for just fighting and what enchantments to get (i'm a dwarf) i now its in the guide but i dont understand it fully
Thx in advance and gj with this guide