Kensai III weapon build

[ZzpxpzZ]

Hey all,

I am pretty new to this game, (or rather I played at launch but have basically been gone since before you could advance past level 10) and I am looking to make a melee damage focused fighter type character.

At this time I am basically looking at making a Kensai III fighter character, either as pure fighter, or possibly I may end up 18/2 fighter/rogue.

Either way, I was looking at the different weapon type choices people talk about, and I was wondering - is there any reason why going elf and using scimitars as your weapon of choice would be a bad / sub par idea?

I am not particularly familiar with the mechanics that come into play at the end of the game that would cause this to be a poor choice, so I am wondering would the very large critical threat range on a kensai scimitar be worth while? 14-20 I believe, particularly with elves recieving bonus damage and hit on Scimitars?

Thanks for any insights into the situation.

[FuzzyDuck81]

Totally viable - the crits wont hit as hard as khopshes which are the most popular & highest overall DPS with 2weaps, but the high crit range is great for burst effects - and a bodyfeeder scimitar for example will be a massive boost to survivability too.

Since you'll have feats to spare, you can also take a couple of the elf dragonmarks - self-buffing displacement will be a big help too

[Brennie]

Scimitars are a totally viable weapon, as FuzzyDuck said above. They will actually outperform Kopeshes on any type of non-scaling "on crit" effects (Enfeebling, Smiting, Bodyfeeder, etc). Plus they will be a heckuva lot cheaper ^_^. besides which, switching to kopesh at later level (if you decide to do so, perhaps at the time where you start crafting greensteel so weapon expense doesn't matter anymore) requires only an enhancement reset and an extra feat, since you are already TWF slashing specced!

Elf, however, is a less-than-optimal choice. Fighters get so many damage bonuses that the extra 2 to scimitars from elf (at the expense of 6 AP) won't make a huge difference... but the lack of useful enhancements, good racial abilities, and most importantly CON will have a large impact. The extra dex will help qualify for TWF easier/cheaper, but the dex enhancements are simply wasted.

If you're not hugely attached to elf, try Halfling (very useful dragonmarks help fill up the tons of feats Fighters get, bonus to ac/tohit in low levels where it matters, sneak attack extra damage, and better saves), Warforged (extra Powerattack + immunities, DR. And con) or Dwarf (Con, balance, AC vs. Giants, spell defense enhancements, and dwarven tactics) instead. Or even Human, just for the healing amp and +1 extra strength via enhancements)