newbie build advice

[Kalandrin]

Ok, I've read a lot of different posts on builds, and while some are very interesting, none were *quite* what I was looking for. I want a TWF Ranger with maxed rogue skills. I tend to solo a lot, and I want to be able to hit as many of the optional exp boosts as possible (catching traps, opening locks, etc..). I realize that I am hurting my DPS a good bit with this build by being finesse based with a gimped strength, but I need the INT to keep skills up, and dex gives a further boost to most of the skills. I will obviously need a +4 wis item at least to cast any spells, but from what I hear those are not too hard to acquire. I chose Drow because I have that race unlocked, but not 32 point builds, and the +dex/int seemed to go well with this build.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.5.1
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 20 Lawful Good Drow Male
(1 Fighter \ 1 Rogue \ 18 Ranger) 
Hit Points: 242
Spell Points: 205 
BAB: 19\19\24\29\29
Fortitude: 14
Reflex: 20
Will: 6

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             12                    15
Dexterity            18                    25
Constitution         12                    12
Intelligence         16                    16
Wisdom               10                    10
Charisma             10                    10

Tomes Used
+1 Tome of Dexterity used at level 12

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 20)
Balance               8                    11
Bluff                 0                     0
Concentration         1                     1
Diplomacy             0                     0
Disable Device        7                    25
Haggle                1                     1
Heal                  0                     0
Hide                  8                    24
Intimidate            0                     0
Jump                  5                    11
Listen                4                     6
Move Silently         8                    24
Open Lock             8                    29
Perform               n/a                   n/a
Repair                3                     3
Search                7                    23
Spot                  4                    12
Swim                  1                     2
Tumble                7                    10
Use Magic Device      4                    22

{\b {\ul Notable Equipment }} \par +5 Holy Burst Adamantine Rapier \par +5 Vorpal Adamantine Rapier \par Wise Helm \par Health Necklace of Protection \par Ogre Power Bracers \par Dexterous Gloves of Disabling \par  \par Level 1 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Dodge


Level 2 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Undead
Enhancement: Rogue Haste Boost I
Enhancement: Drow Melee Damage I
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Damage I


Level 3 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Mobility
Enhancement: Ranger Dexterity I


Level 4 (Ranger)
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity I


Level 5 (Ranger)
Enhancement: Ranger Skill Boost I
Enhancement: Ranger Sprint Boost I
Enhancement: Drow Melee Attack I
Enhancement: Ranger Devotion I


Level 6 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Evil Outsider
Feat: (Selected) Spring Attack
Enhancement: Ranger Energy Resistence Boost I
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Damage II
Enhancement: Ranger Search I


Level 7 (Ranger)
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Attack I
Enhancement: Ranger Tempest I
Enhancement: Ranger Dexterity II


Level 8 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Weapon Finesse
Enhancement: Drow Melee Damage II


Level 9 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Piercing Weapons
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity II
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Resistance I


Level 10 (Ranger)
Enhancement: Ranger Item Defense I


Level 11 (Ranger)


Level 12 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Elemental
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack
Enhancement: Ranger Skill Boost II
Enhancement: Ranger Skill Boost III
Enhancement: Drow Melee Attack II


Level 13 (Ranger)
Enhancement: Ranger Skill Boost IV
Enhancement: Ranger Item Defense II


Level 14 (Ranger)
Enhancement: Ranger Tempest II


Level 15 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness
Enhancement: Ranger Item Defense III
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Damage III


Level 16 (Ranger)
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Attack II


Level 17 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Aberration
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Damage IV


Level 18 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Oversized Two Weapon Fighting


Level 19 (Ranger)
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II


Level 20 (Ranger)
Enhancement: Rogue Damage Boost I
Enhancement: Ranger Tempest III
Enhancement: Ranger Dexterity III

[Therigar]

I ran something very similar to L16 over on Ghallanda before the new servers were introduced and level cap went to L20. I've since deleted and moved on with all but a couple of characters.

The build concept works fine. You run into difficulty with low DPS while soloing when you run into mobs that can regen or heal. Especially difficult is 2 or 3 cleric mobs located together and even more difficult if they have death ward.

Some comments on your choices:

Drow -- Easy to unlock but not as good a choice as Elf if you have 32 point builds. If you do not have 32 point builds then Drow is a good alternative. But, with 32 point builds you can get the same stat distributions along with the bonuses to bow use. Using ranged combat can be especially effective when soloing. Without the raw strength to overwhelm mobs with DPS it is sometimes more useful to kill from a distance.

WIS -- Honestly, this should be a dump stat. You don't really need it to keep Spot up and you don't need it to get to the top level ranger spells. Tomes and WIS items will get you there no problem. And, as long as Turbine keeps offering +2 tomes in the Turbine store it makes sense to save those 2 build points and use them elsewhere.

STR -- See my comments about killing self-healing mobs. Even though it is only 1 more point of damage, IMO you should run with 14 STR instead of 12 STR.

Fighter -- An acceptable choice for an extra feat. But, going DEX based almost screams to choose monk instead. You will get to a higher AC wearing dodge items and AC bracers combining DEX and WIS bonuses to boost AC. When you solo a lot this can be critically important. With a little foresight you can hit high 60's to low 70's self buffed and be pretty close to unhittable for practically all content on normal setting. Monk has the added advantage of giving more skill points and giving them in areas that are complimentary to the ranger and rogue classes.

CON -- I understand the CON problem with drow and elf. But, 12 CON is asking for trouble. Unless you find a way to boost AC to the almost unhittable level you need to compensate by having massive HP. Neither drow nor elf is a good choice in that respect. You could boost CON or you could select halfling or warforged or dwarf as your character race. Halfling with the same build points jumps to 14 CON. Dwarf and warforged jump to 16. While there are other bonuses to warforged the difficulty in self healing makes being fleshy a bit more appealing. What you risk is losing DEX from racial enhancements (drow, elf, halfling) vs gaining CON from enhancements (dwarf, warforged). A strong middle ground is human which can toss an enhancement at both stats. Again, this would assume 32 point build capability (see the comment above about drow as a race choice).

I went with warforged in my build and as reinvented I dropped all notion of rogue and went monk/wizard/ranger. But, the general concept of a DEX based solo artist is sound. Once more, the biggest issue is self-healing mobs and getting adequate DPS to kill them. Otherwise, it works just fine and is fun to play.

[Kalandrin]

Thanks for the feedback. Monk with the rogue would also have been my first choice... but I started playing about 4 days ago, so I haven't unlocked that yet =) With the build as-is, could a +2 str tome and a +2 con tome work to offset the starting stats as they are? or is that too unrealistic/expensive to bother with?

[Therigar]

If you have the Turbine points you can pick up +2 tomes in the Turbine store and use them at L7.

I figured that drow was chosen because you had not unlocked the other options. Given that your class choices and stats are alright. Not what I would have done but then again it isn't my character.

Personally, I'd save 2 points from WIS and toss that at STR. Gets you to 14.

I might also drop DEX to 16 and raise CON to 14 but that is a bit more iffy. With weapon finesse and sticking to rapiers as your main weapon you should have no real trouble hitting stuff on normal difficulty as long as you are close to the quest level. Now if you are L6 and jump into a L9 or higher quest, well that's different. But if you are sticking pretty much close to your level you should be fine. I would probably trade the 1 AC and +1 to hit for the +1 HP per level.

Otherwise, I think you have a workable character concept (even if you did not make those changes it would work -- you just need to understand what the tradeoffs are).

[unbongwah]

My view is you should only go DEX / Finesse-based if you're going for a high-AC build. This build doesn't have a monk splash and doesn't take Combat Expertise (no feat to spare); so its AC will lag behind at higher lvls. I recommend saving yourself a feat and sticking with a STR-based Tempest. Something like this:

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.5.1
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 20 True Neutral Drow Male
(1 Fighter \ 1 Rogue \ 18 Ranger) 
Hit Points: 252
Spell Points: 205 
BAB: 19\19\24\29\29
Fortitude: 14
Reflex: 18
Will: 5

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             16                    21
Dexterity            16                    20
Constitution         12                    12
Intelligence         16                    16
Wisdom                8                     8
Charisma             10                    10

Level 1 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Dodge


Level 2 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Undead


Level 3 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness


Level 4 (Fighter)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Mobility


Level 5 (Ranger)


Level 6 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Spring Attack


Level 7 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Giant


Level 8 (Ranger)
Ability Raise: STR
Enhancement: Ranger Energy Resistence Boost I
Enhancement: Rogue Haste Boost I
Enhancement: Ranger Skill Boost I
Enhancement: Drow Melee Attack I
Enhancement: Drow Melee Damage I
Enhancement: Drow Melee Damage II
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity I
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity II
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Damage I
Enhancement: Ranger Tempest I
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training I
Enhancement: Ranger Dexterity I
Enhancement: Ranger Dexterity II
Enhancement: Fighter Toughness I
Enhancement: Rogue Improved Trap Sense I


Level 9 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Piercing Weapons


Level 10 (Ranger)


Level 11 (Ranger)


Level 12 (Ranger)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Evil Outsider
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack


Level 13 (Ranger)


Level 14 (Ranger)


Level 15 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Healing Spell


Level 16 (Ranger)
Ability Raise: STR


Level 17 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Construct


Level 18 (Ranger)
Feat: (Selected) Oversized Two Weapon Fighting


Level 19 (Ranger)


Level 20 (Ranger)
Ability Raise: STR
Enhancement: Ranger Energy Resistence Boost II
Enhancement: Ranger Skill Boost II
Enhancement: Drow Melee Attack II
Enhancement: Elven Enchantment Resistance I
Enhancement: Elven Enchantment Resistance II
Enhancement: Ranger Item Defense I
Enhancement: Ranger Item Defense II
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Attack I
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Attack II
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Damage II
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Damage III
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Damage IV
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Resistance I
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Resistance II
Enhancement: Ranger Tempest II
Enhancement: Ranger Tempest III
Enhancement: Ranger Devotion I
Enhancement: Ranger Devotion II
Enhancement: Ranger Devotion III
Enhancement: Ranger Devotion IV