newbie splash question

[cmanton]

Does it matter the order one levels when one multiclasses ?

When ppl post builds they show which class they leveled at.

e.g.
1 rogue
2 rgr
3 rgr
4 rogue
...

Now, does the order as one levels when they take the class make a difference on the end results, or is the order picked purely for external reasons ? e.g. some feats may not be useful levels 1-3 like TWF since it's fairly easy for all characters so another feat may be selected.

[Visty]

the order does matter, yes

at first lvl you get x4 your skillpoints, thats why you should use the class with most skillpoints at lvl1. in your example its the rogue

[cmanton]

ok, so for the first 6 levels would a

rogue,rogue,rogue,rogue,ranger,ranger,...

be the same as

rogue,ranger,ranger,rogue,rogue,rogue,...

?

When perusing the builds for the rogue/ranger, the latter build seems more common than the former.

(I currently have lvl 4 drow rogue and think that splashing 2 lvls of ranger would be nice according to what I've read so far.)

Other possibilities are to add ranger levels later too...not sure the pros/cons of that move either.

[stainer]

Unfortunately all of my builds have newbie splashed in. It just isn't visible on MyDDO.

[unbongwah]

Your first class should pretty much always be whichever one you want that gets the most skill points per level: rogues get 8; bards & rangers get 6; barbarians & monks get 4; everyone else gets 2. Which is one major reason why multiclassing should always be planned in advance.

After first level, it's a matter of personal priorities. E.g., many rogue / ranger builds take 1 level of rogue then six levels of ranger to get ITWF and the Tempest enhancement (attack speed boost when dual-wielding) ASAP. Apart from class abilities, one needs to take skills into account, because it costs more skill points to level up cross-class skills than class skills.

[ddaedelus]

After the first level, it still can matter. It depends on what you're trying to do.

Some feats and enhancements have level requirements, so, for instance, if you're trying to splash fighter and want to use the fighter's second level fighter bonus feat to pick up improved-two-weapon fighting, you'd want to take the second level of fighter after your BAB hits +6 (a prereq for the feat), which would require you take your second level of fighter at 6th level or later (depending on the other class).

The first tier of enhancements comes at level 6, so you might want to go rogue, ranger (x6) rather than rogue, ranger (x4), rogue, ranger (x2) because that will get you to tempest one level faster.

And other such considerations.

[Ellyll]

ok, so for the first 6 levels would a

rogue,rogue,rogue,rogue,ranger,ranger,...

be the same as

rogue,ranger,ranger,rogue,rogue,rogue,...

?

When perusing the builds for the rogue/ranger, the latter build seems more common than the former.

(I currently have lvl 4 drow rogue and think that splashing 2 lvls of ranger would be nice according to what I've read so far.)

Other possibilities are to add ranger levels later too...not sure the pros/cons of that move either.

If you are going for rogue skills you would probably only want one rogue level with ranger, as ranger gets "enough" skill points to only need 1 rogue, and gets evasion at mid levels...

In answer to your question, though, it is more skill point efficient, in splashes that have 2 rogue, to take rogue at first and then to wait a few levels before taking the second.

There are 4 different aptitudes any given character can have with any given skill at any given level.

1. It is forbidden. I.E., a fighter with no rogue can not learn any disable device at all.

2. It is allowed to train, but is not a primary skill of any of your classes. I.E. a fighter/barb learning heal. These take 2 points to raise ability score by 1. You can put 4 points in to raise them 2 scores at level one. After that you are allowed to put one point in per level to raise them by a max of .5 score/level. This makes the stat/gear unmodified max for a non class skill 11.5 by level 20. You can go ahead and save the last point, because an extra .5 doesn't help (afaik).

3. It is a class skill of a class you have, but not the one you are currently leveling. I.E. a ranger with one level of rogue while leveling to 10 ranger taking disable device. You are allowed to train a full one ability score/level at a cost of 2 skill points. You will still get to have an unmodified max of 23 points in that skill by level 20 (as a pure would), but you will have to pay 2 points for each rank on all off levels. (the 23 comes from 4 at level one and one for the next 19)

4. It is a class skill and you are training said class at this level. I.E. a rogue/bard taking your second level of rogue, or any pure class. Point for point, spend one get one, max 23 unmodified by level 20 (same as above)

Now, one thing that is important to note is that the max allowed is a running total. For example, if you put 10 levels into a rogue and forget to train any disable device (god forbid) you can put your next 13 points into it, as soon as you get them. This means that if you take rogue at L1 and L5, and another class in between, and don't put any points into rogue skills in your off levels, you can use all of your rogue skill points at L 5 to "bump" your rogue skills up from 4 to 8 at 1 to 1 cost per skill point.

Hope that's a bit clearer than mud. Check out the character builder and play around with it to learn more.

[Nikkoleth]

Lets say i wanna lvl a pally and spash war in.I start up in vet status so can i take my war lvls first then go pally the rest of the way,instead of switchin back and forth.or will that mess something up?...as far as getting certain things earlier or not idc,as long as i get what i need by lvl 20.