The Swiss Army Knife

[vermillion719]

No, I don't have a build of my own in this thread. This topic is for discussing the best "I can do everything" build. xD

For a long time, I've been very interested in the idea of a character who can do just about anything "important" to a party. This means decent melee capability (certainly not amazing but the ability to hold their own), self-healing and maybe buffing, and, the one thing that seems to throw the whole deal off, being able to find and disable traps, as well as open locks.

Obviously, that last part means at least one level of rogue, though two would be preferred for evasion. But what else do you feel makes for a great "throw me in a dungeon and watch me handle the whole thing on my own" character? So far, my Warforged rogue/fighter/wizard is looking rather capable (self-healing rocks, but as he's only LV5 and will keep going wizard until I get the GOOD buff spells, his melee is a little lacking, comparitively), but what would you say is the best way to go?

Note that the one thing I haven't brought up is party support. That's because it seems rather difficult to add to this mix beyond Haste/Displacement/other buff spells, but if you have a build that can incorporate that as well, that's pretty fantastic. For this, I'd say Warchanter/rogue/some melee class would be best, but the question is, WHICH melee class? Or is it even better to skip the melee class?

Long story short, this thread is for discussion on what you feel the best "swiss army knife" build is. Because for someone who likes to try and solo quests, versatility is MUCH preferred to focus. xD

[Krag]

1. WF Wiz18/Rogue2
++ healing
++ casting
+ evasion
+ traps
+/- buffs
- melee

2. Dwarf Bard16/Fighter2/Rogue2
++ buffs
+ evasion
+ traps
+ healing
+ melee
+ CC

3. Ranger18/Monk1/Rogue1
++ melee
++ AC
+ evasion
+ traps
+ buffs
+/- healing

[unbongwah]

At some point, your WF rogue / wizard / fighter is going to have to decide to specialize in either melee (e.g., rogue 2 / wizard 6 / fighter 12), roguing (e.g., rogue 13 / wizard 6 / fighter 1), or spellcasting (e.g., rogue 2 / fighter 1 / wizard 17). Something like rogue 7 / fighter 6 / wizard 7 might also work while leveling, though I suspect you'll be too thinly spread for endgame. Point is, though, in the absence of PnP warrior-mage prestige classes like Bladesinger, it's tough to make a DDO build which is equally good at arcane spellcasting & melee.

I think a rogue / bard build like the one Krag mentions is best for what you're after: bards get a good mix of arcane buffs, healing (both spells & wands), and songs for both buffs & CC; rogue provides trap skills, Evasion, and a bit of sneak attack damage; you should end up with max UMD; and properly specced you'll do pretty decent DPS as well. Biggest downsides are they're a bit low on AC & HPs and bards miss out on some of the really nice arcane buffs like Stoneskin (though once your UMD is high enough you can use arcane wands & scrolls instead). EDIT: oh, and they tend to be feat-starved and don't get martial weapons, which is why so many splash a level or two of fighter.

[Club'in]

My halfling ranger/rogue/fighter would fit the bill. At least 12 levels of ranger to get the best melee feats and +5 barkskin. Only need a couple levels of the other two classes, but you can customize that as you see fit. With the halfling cunning enhancements, full dragon marks w/a bunch of the dragon mark enhancements, as well as multiple levels of Ranger Devotion to enhance your heals (and maybe even the metamagic Empower Healing), and you've got yourself a good swiss army knife character. Mine dual wields bastard swords for fun and flavor, and he really carves things up quick. I think he gets 5 full heals, as well. Was able to do the Cabal trap on hard, so rogue skills are more than adequate. Focused more on strength than on dex.

[riverbck]

Withe maesters touch your wiz/18 rogue/2 can zip through the early levels pretty easily using melee......