first recommendation for new player

[zellyen]

i was just wondering if a fighter as a first character (solo/farm) is advised. i would think so since fighters in most games are the simpler ones to play. if so, can someone hook me with a simple enough build to start with? I have searched and found some, however, non of them talks about what skills are chosen upon creation, perhaps b/c people choose the samething and its obvious for ppl who know the game well. thanks

[Goldeneye]

Check out my 28pt Human Khopesh Fighter
There are also a number of new player friendly builds in my Index of Builds - check my signature

[zellyen]

ty, question tho, what is kensai what is khopesh :X

[Goldeneye]

Khopesh is a exotic type of weapon. By default a character isn't proficient with it (meaning they can't use it without penalty). As a result, you need to get the Exotic Weapon Khopesh feat.

Kensei is a fighter prestige class. In the game, when you have leveled up enough you get to choose enhancements that boost your abilities. Kensei is a powerful enhancement.

[zellyen]

more questions! whats rank do? as opposed to levels
also, when do i pick enhancements, i dont see it at creation
lastly, in quests, what should i pick if im going for khopesh. should i just choose 1 handed weapons?

EDIT: nvm i see trainers that teach enhancements for AP.. and i have to talk to someone everytime i wanna level up right?

quest reward question still remains :X

[Lorien_the_First_One]

As a new player you will not be able to afford good kopesh's unless you get lucky... at least until you can craft at higher level in The Shroud. You might want to start by specializing in something else and respec'ing later. For example scimitars are decent weapons and easier to find affordably.

For your end reward, yes, if you are spec'ing kopesh then look for one handers.

As a side note, you mentioned you planned to solo... let me encourage you also to group. This game is at its best when grouping and eventually you will need to group to truly experience the game.

You may also want to check out the wiki http://ddowiki.com/page/Newbie_guide

[moomooprincess]

You will be able to take on all quests in Korthos to elite and all quest in the harbor to HARD.

On elite the quests are a bit tougher, but if you have enough cure wounds potions, Resist lightning potions, and remove curse potions, get your self a hireling cleirc on elite you will be able to solo.

Once you become comfortable in the game, you should be able to do the House K - Ever Full flagon quests on normal, the House D - Depths series to hard.

If you have the best gear for your level and familiar with the quests you would be able to run many of the level 6th or less quests to elite. Since you are starting out, this is not going to happen.

Look for mithril full plate, mithril large shield, and a dwarven axe. Dwarves are auto given the feat dwarven axe which is an exotic weapon. Dwarven axes are PLENTIFUL.

[Goldeneye]

As a new player you will not be able to afford good kopesh's unless you get lucky... at least until you can craft at higher level in The Shroud. You might want to start by specializing in something else and respec'ing later. For example scimitars are decent weapons and easier to find affordably.

For your end reward, yes, if you are spec'ing kopesh then look for one handers.

Good advice Lorien. Khopeshes are more expensive then most weapons. High levels they are great weapons, but at low levels just use whatever you can get your hands on, preferably slashing weapons (longswords, battleaxes....) because you get bonuses with them.

Look for mithril full plate, mithril large shield, and a dwarven axe. Dwarves are auto given the feat dwarven axe which is an exotic weapon. Dwarven axes are PLENTIFUL.

Mithril full plate is a good one to watch out for.
Don't worry about shields. Carry a crappy one with you just in case you need to block, but 99% of the time you'll be wielding 2 weapons.... and not using a shield.

Don't use Dwarven axes. As a human fighter, you will have a -4 to-hit penalty since you are not proficient in Dwarven Axes, yes they are plentiful, but you will have a hard time hitting enemies.

[DevKiller]

I like Dwarves as fighters they get some real good axe attack and damage feats that help. Here is a 28pt two weapon fighter build I put together for someone else http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=238881 as I suggested to them I think two handed fighting is the better route for lower level soloing as you will deal more damage.

If you are interested in the Two handed fighting version of this build let me know and I will post it for you. If not you could always download this character planner http://www.rjcyberware.com/DDO/ very helpful in describing what all the feats and enhancements are and more importantly what pre requisites you need. It also allows you to map out your character progression so you know what to do when leveling and spending action points, you can of course change your mind in the middle of your build and all you have to do is go into the planner and plug in your changes to see what it will effect.

Starting with a pure fighter is a good start if you are new to the game and you can pretty much solo most stuff up to level 10 (not all on elite) more then enough to understand the mechanics and the quests.

Also the benefit to going Two Handed is that it will cost you less to get weapons and because you are getting axe benefits with the dwarf I would suggest Greataxe as your main weapon.

Check out my alt on my.ddo.com to see soem of my fighter builds at different levels.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[DevKiller]

Mithril full plate is a good one to watch out for.
Don't worry about shields. Carry a crappy one with you just in case you need to block, but 99% of the time you'll be wielding 2 weapons.... and not using a shield.

Don't use Dwarven axes. As a human fighter, you will have a -4 to-hit penalty since you are not proficient in Dwarven Axes, yes they are plentiful, but you will have a hard time hitting enemies.

Although Mithril is good for a dex bonus to your armor you should keep in mind that you lose that bonus when attacked from behind or the sides. I would suggest Admantine Full Plate as the Damage Reduction (DR) comes in handy.

These days both types of armor are pretty expensive but Mithril is typically double or triple the price. I am much happier with Adamantine, your other option is to go with a True Nuetral character which you can get stability armor gving you a +2 to your AC but the trade off is you cannot use pure good weapons.

[DevKiller]

more questions! whats rank do? as opposed to levels
also, when do i pick enhancements, i dont see it at creation
lastly, in quests, what should i pick if im going for khopesh. should i just choose 1 handed weapons?

EDIT: nvm i see trainers that teach enhancements for AP.. and i have to talk to someone everytime i wanna level up right?

quest reward question still remains :X

Keep the questions coming the more you knwo the better the gameplay will for you and those you group with.

Well done!

[Propane]

Your first charactor might want to be a haggle bard...

You will find groups easy and grow that bank acount to help later charactor out with the piles of Plat you will be earning....

[zellyen]

now im scared, what should i really make lol if khopeshs are hard to obtain, would that make my life hard when leveling later on?

[MrWizard]

now im scared, what should i really make lol if khopeshs are hard to obtain, would that make my life hard when leveling later on?

you are fine. Enjoy the game.
I think a fighter is a great way to start without having to learn too much.
All weapons drop and tons of everything are on the auction house.
You will be fine with or without khopeshes.
I do suggest following some builds already posted to save you a lot of learners headaches.

[zellyen]

so after playing for a few ranks i have a few questions:
1. should i always have a hireling, they seem useful
2. what are saves? ie +1 to fortitude saves?
3. are there hotkeys for hireling skills?
4. how do i switch toolbars? and are there alternate hotkey for diff toolbars?
5. ... what is the difference in difficulty? it seems like the exp is insignificant... at least at lower lvls
6. what are scrolls? like scrolls of enfeeblement?
7. are things like stealth, defense mode important enough to secure a spot on the hotbar?
8. what skills should i utilize more? i didnt even know that some enhancements were buffs that i have to cast lol... and skills like trip and sunder, when should i use them (do their animation always look the same? between skills)
9. lastly, whats all this favor point business i keep hearing, and how do u check if u have any
ty! this game is fun

[marshm1972]

so after playing for a few ranks i have a few questions:
1. should i always have a hireling, they seem useful
2. what are saves? ie +1 to fortitude saves?
3. are there hotkeys for hireling skills?
4. how do i switch toolbars? and are there alternate hotkey for diff toolbars?
5. ... what is the difference in difficulty? it seems like the exp is insignificant... at least at lower lvls
6. what are scrolls? like scrolls of enfeeblement?
ty! this game is fun

I can answer some of these.

1. If you cannot find a human player..yes it helps. But a human will even always be better than a NPC, even a bad player (although there are a few exceptions)...lol

2. Saves are a chance to reduce damage or dodge a specific type of attack.

For example: you unwittingly spring a spike trap, the computer makes a dice roll against your REFLEX Save (the results are seen bottom right of your screen). If you fail to make the REFLEX check you take full damage from the trap, if you succeed you only take half damage.

There are 3 different main types FORTITUDE, WILLPOWER and REFLEX. Each SAVE is governed by specific stat -the higher the stat, the higher the bonus to that particular save.

A. FORTITUDE (Constitution) -this governs your physical health and protects against things like disease and poison.
B. REFLEX (Dexterity) -this is your reflexes, and protects again traps and certain types of monster attacks .
C. WILLPOWER (Wisdom) -mental heath and governs your chances to avoid mind-controlling spells from enemy spellcasters.

3-4: I don't remember offhand.

5. Higher difficult means that monsters are much more powerful and have much more HP. The upside is that you get much more XP and the loot is significantly better. In certain quests/raids the higher difficulty means a better chance of finding a rare item. "Rare" items doesn't just mean unique, it also mean that the are hard to get.

6. Scrolls is a roll of paper with a one-shot spell written on it. Its essentially like a potion EXCEPT that while potions can be used by any class, scrolls can only be used by specific classes at certain levels or with characters that have a high enough UMD score. For example, say you are a fighter and you find a fireball scroll requires a (spell level) 3 WIZ, 3 SORC or a UMD of 25. That means you can't use it because you are not a spell caster. BUT if you get your UMD to 25 then you can cast it regardless of the spell casting requirement. There are two types of magic Arcane and Divine, and in general they cannot read each other scrolls unless they have a high UMD. So for example a Mage(Arcane) cannot read a Cure light wounds Scroll (which is Devine)...but a Cleric, Favored Soul, Paladin, and Ranger can because these have access to divine spells. Scrolls are destroyed upon use. You can read the requirements by right clicking on the scroll.

[MrWizard]

so after playing for a few ranks i have a few questions:
1. should i always have a hireling, they seem useful
2. what are saves? ie +1 to fortitude saves?
3. are there hotkeys for hireling skills?
4. how do i switch toolbars? and are there alternate hotkey for diff toolbars?
5. ... what is the difference in difficulty? it seems like the exp is insignificant... at least at lower lvls
6. what are scrolls? like scrolls of enfeeblement?
7. are things like stealth, defense mode important enough to secure a spot on the hotbar?
8. what skills should i utilize more? i didnt even know that some enhancements were buffs that i have to cast lol... and skills like trip and sunder, when should i use them (do their animation always look the same? between skills)
9. lastly, whats all this favor point business i keep hearing, and how do u check if u have any
ty! this game is fun

don't have the link, but the ddo.com website has a downloadable manual to get you started...and the ddowiki.com site is great too.

[DevKiller]

so after playing for a few ranks i have a few questions:
1. should i always have a hireling, they seem useful
2. what are saves? ie +1 to fortitude saves?
3. are there hotkeys for hireling skills?
4. how do i switch toolbars? and are there alternate hotkey for diff toolbars?
5. ... what is the difference in difficulty? it seems like the exp is insignificant... at least at lower lvls
6. what are scrolls? like scrolls of enfeeblement?
7. are things like stealth, defense mode important enough to secure a spot on the hotbar?
8. what skills should i utilize more? i didnt even know that some enhancements were buffs that i have to cast lol... and skills like trip and sunder, when should i use them (do their animation always look the same? between skills)
9. lastly, whats all this favor point business i keep hearing, and how do u check if u have any
ty! this game is fun

3. No that I have seen
4. In your options you can set hot bar switching to what ever key you would like
7. If you are a rogue then stealth is improtant so no if you are a fighter, defense mode comes in handy when you need a +2 to armor however you give up attack bonus when you activate.
8. There are things like trip and sunder which some really like to use and others don't so it is a preference, trip comes in handy when you want to mobilize a mob. I never use them so I am sure someone will chime in on how to best use them. Other stuff like armor boost, haste boost, attack boost are other activated enhancements and they all have their pluses but if you are building a Kensai fighter you need 3 levels of attack boost which will eventually get you an enhancement that will give you +8 to strength for 1 minute.
9. Before the DDO store you needed to collect (you still need to collect it for other things) favor from all the patrons and this would unlock things like the Drow as well as give you tomes etc... In house P when you reack 75 favor you get access to some great 30 minute buffs and when you hit 150 you get the time pendant which give you a 50% speed boost when you are in public areas. Here is the link to favor info on the wiki http://ddowiki.com/page/Favor

The wiki has great information so use and abuse.

[zellyen]

the wiki says favor points reward turbine points? how do i check how many favor points i have at the moment? and how do i check how many turbine points i have?

[FuzzyDuck81]

for favour, hit P to go into the quest list and then click the tab at the top (at work so cant remember specifics of what the screens are called) and that will show your current favour earned for each faction as well as the total. When a bar fills, then you'll get a message in the mail that will tell you to go to the faction representative to unlock your reward. as the favour wiki states, you get special rewards for the character for each house, and for certain benchmarks of TOTAL favour you unlock boosts for your account on that server (400 for drow, 1000 for veteran, 1750 for 32point builds, 2500 for favoured soul) and even if you delete that high-favour character the server-based reward will remain unlocked.

for turbine points, click the store icon (or hit ctrl S) and it'll be displayed at the top. you'll get 25 TP when you hit 25, 50, 100 total favour & every 100 after that on EACH character - hence why people will often do "point grinding", rolling a character, getting a load of quests completed very quickly (sometimes with a friend or guildmate on a high-level character that can rush through & grab completion a lot more easily than if the party was level-appropriate) then delete the character, reroll, rinse & repeat.. once you've earned TP they're yours until you spend them.

You also get a one-time bonus of 100 points the 1st time you hit 1000 total favour (am assuming per server) but this DOESNT repeat for each character. There might be more one-off large bonuses but as my highest favour character on the US servers only has about 1600 i dont know for sure.