Help building a WF Intimitank.

[Fishcatch22]

Hey folks. Since my GF is very intent on rolling a drow Wizard once she unlocks it, I was thinking of making a WF Intimitank fighter to level along with it, so she can heal me. While it's more straightforward than building other chars I've rolled, I still want some help as to what my starting stats should be. I will be going 28PB unfortunately, so I need to know where to cut stat corners. I was thinking of doing a base stat spread like this:
16 STR
10/12 DEX
16 CON
12/14 INT
6 WIS
10/12 CHA
My main question with my stats is which tome should I eat at level 7: a 2+ int (lowering int to 12) or a 2+ dex (lowering dex to 10)? I was thinking of raising cha to 12 maybe, not sure where I'd cut corners for that. I will get the extra 6 dex from an endgame item; I'm pretty sure with addy body enhancements + SD line I'd only get 4+ to max dex bonus. Featwise I was probably just going to do Bswords +THF since WF favor THF; other feats are obvious standards (Power attack, slashing focuses, CE, Toughness, intim boosters, ect). Will max Intim and UMD, not sure about other skills, so far Jump and Balance seem like useful candidates. Pretty sure levelup stats go into STR. Help appreciated.

[Fishcatch22]

bump?

[Xgemina]

One thing I can see is that you don't need is that much charisma. Between items and pots you will be able to get your chr up when you need to.

I really enjoyed playing a verision of Anthios888's RockCandy. Here is the updated information on it: http://forums.ddo.com/showpost.php?p...&postcount=109 It can certainly handle the DPS role and tank role as needed with evasion and full umd thrown in.

[Fishcatch22]

Yeah, I figured, just I seen a few intim builds with 12 Chr. Also, forgot about fighter armor mastery, will those stack with the WF enhancement lines?

[Bernaise]

For my WF Intimitank I went with (32 pt build);

STR 16
DEX 10
CON 18
INT 12
WIS 06
CHR 12

You won't have any points to invest into UMD IMHO, so I skipped that completely. Ate a +1 CHR tome at level 3 so I could get CE later and also picked up Force of Personality to help with saves somewhat. The points I had were invested into Intimidate, Jump, and Balance (in that order).

Don't have access to my current build from the office, will send it to you later if you're interested

[Fishcatch22]

For my WF Intimitank I went with (32 pt build);

STR 16
DEX 10
CON 18
INT 12
WIS 06
CHR 12

You won't have any points to invest into UMD IMHO, so I skipped that completely. Ate a +1 CHR tome at level 3 so I could get CE later and also picked up Force of Personality to help with saves somewhat. The points I had were invested into Intimidate, Jump, and Balance (in that order).

Don't have access to my current build from the office, will send it to you later if you're interested

SUre- what would you shave off those stats to make it 28p? Maybe I should just make them both 12 and eat 2 tomes...

[Dragaer]

Just curious, but what do you plan on intimidating with this build? Just raid trash mobs and normal quests or can a WF get a high enough intim for raid bosses?

[Fishcatch22]

Just curious, but what do you plan on intimidating with this build? Just raid trash mobs and normal quests or can a WF get a high enough intim for raid bosses?

I've seen several Intim builds with 10 chr base, so I assume its possible as long as you have no negative modifiers.

[unbongwah]

Also, forgot about fighter armor mastery, will those stack with the WF enhancement lines?

WF do not get AC-/MDB-boosting enhs; perhaps you're thinking of dwarves. WF get DR enhs and can take Improved DR and Mithril Fluidity (boosts MDB w/ Mithril Body) feats.

For a 28-pt WF build, I would probably dump-stat CHA and rely more on hate-tanking w/WF Brute Fighting enhs than Intimitanking.

Alternatively, do you have FvS too? If so, you could do a WF LoB DPS hate-tank. You and your GF can take turns healing each other.

[Fishcatch22]

WF do not get AC-/MDB-boosting enhs; perhaps you're thinking of dwarves. WF get DR enhs and can take Improved DR and Mithril Fluidity (boosts MDB w/ Mithril Body) feats.

For a 28-pt WF build, I would probably dump-stat CHA and rely more on hate-tanking w/WF Brute Fighting enhs than Intimitanking.

Alternatively, do you have FvS too? If so, you could do a WF LoB DPS hate-tank. You and your GF can take turns healing each other.

Oh, I thgohut they got feats that improved MDB on Addy, I guess I confused it with Mithral. So I would still have 4+ MDB with fighter ehns and a Mithral TS, right? And yeah I do, thats actually what I'm leveling with my GFs Tempest right now. I wanted to make a tank fighter, and since shes making a Wizzy I figured WF would be the most efficient choice. I know 28p isn't ideal, but could it be decent enough if I set Dex and Int to 12, then ate a Dex and an Int tome for CE and dodge?

[unbongwah]

For a WF tank you can get your MDB in Addy Body up to 6: 1 base + 2 from SD III + 3 Armor Mastery enhs. I believe you can craft an epic docent which will give another +2 MDB, but I'm not familiar with epic crafting, so hopefully someone else will weigh in on that.

[Fishcatch22]

hm... I should probably eat a 2+ dex tome at 7 then, so I can get 20 dex with a 6+ item. Hopefully I can eat a 2+ int tome too, but might have to make it 1+ to cut costs.

[unbongwah]

Here's a WF THF SD build of mine. If I've done my math right, your MDB w/SD III will be 6; so base DEX 14 + 2 tome + 6 item = 22 (+6). I built it with a +2 Supreme tome, but all that's actually needed is +1 INT for CE and +1 CHA for FoP. Unfortunately, it's 32 pts and you said you only have 28-pt builds, so I'm not sure how I'd adjust it. Maybe dump-stat CHA and drop FoP? Enhs probably need work too; e.g., not sure if I should drop something for Haste Boost. Still, at least it gives you something to start with.

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.7.1
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 20 Lawful Good Warforged Female
(20 Fighter) 
Hit Points: 362
Spell Points: 0 
BAB: 20\20\25\30\30
Fortitude: 16
Reflex: 9
Will: 9

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(32 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             16                    26
Dexterity            14                    16
Constitution         16                    18
Intelligence         12                    14
Wisdom                6                     8
Charisma             12                    14

Tomes Used
+2 Tome of Strength used at level 7
+2 Tome of Dexterity used at level 7
+2 Tome of Constitution used at level 7
+2 Tome of Intelligence used at level 7
+2 Tome of Wisdom used at level 7
+2 Tome of Charisma used at level 7

Level 1 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selected) Adamantine Body
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Two Handed Fighting


Level 2 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons


Level 3 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness


Level 4 (Fighter)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Weapon Specialization: Slashing Weapons


Level 5 (Fighter)


Level 6 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Improved Two Handed Fighting
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack


Level 7 (Fighter)


Level 8 (Fighter)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons


Level 9 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selected) Force of Personality


Level 10 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Combat Expertise


Level 11 (Fighter)


Level 12 (Fighter)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Greater Two Handed Fighting
Feat: (Selected) Greater Weapon Specialization: Slashing Weapons


Level 13 (Fighter)


Level 14 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Greater Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons


Level 15 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selected) Bullheaded


Level 16 (Fighter)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Superior Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons


Level 17 (Fighter)


Level 18 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Bastard Sword
Feat: (Selected) Skill Focus: Intimidate


Level 19 (Fighter)


Level 20 (Fighter)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Dodge
Enhancement: Fighter Armor Class Boost I
Enhancement: Fighter Armor Class Boost II
Enhancement: Fighter Armor Class Boost III
Enhancement: Fighter Weapon Alacrity
Enhancement: Fighter Armor Mastery I
Enhancement: Fighter Armor Mastery II
Enhancement: Fighter Armor Mastery III
Enhancement: Fighter Stalwart Defender I
Enhancement: Fighter Stalwart Defender II
Enhancement: Fighter Stalwart Defender III
Enhancement: Fighter Greatsword Specialization I
Enhancement: Fighter Greatsword Specialization II
Enhancement: Fighter Item Defense I
Enhancement: Fighter Item Defense II
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Improved Intimidate I
Enhancement: Improved Intimidate II
Enhancement: Improved Intimidate III
Enhancement: Improved Intimidate IV
Enhancement: Fighter Strength I
Enhancement: Fighter Strength II
Enhancement: Fighter Strength III
Enhancement: Fighter Toughness I
Enhancement: Fighter Toughness II
Enhancement: Warforged Brute Fighting I
Enhancement: Warforged Brute Fighting II
Enhancement: Warforged Brute Fighting III
Enhancement: Warforged Brute Fighting IV
Enhancement: Warforged Healer's Friend I
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack I
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack II
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack III
Enhancement: Warforged Great Weapon Aptitude I
Enhancement: Warforged Great Weapon Aptitude II
Enhancement: Warforged Great Weapon Aptitude III

[Fishcatch22]

Thanks for the advice... I think Ill do 16 str, 12 dex, 16 con, 12 int, 6 wis and 10 con. I'll eat a 2+ Dex and a 1+ Int tome; I'll lose 1 point of AC, but hopefully it won't be missed. I'll take Bullheaded and Iron Will along with the WF will save enhancement lines to get my will save out of the gutter. If anyone has anything else to contribute, I'd be happy to hear it.

[Quikster]

Alternatively you could make a wfd kensai.

there are a few ways to look at your situation. 1 is you want to make an intimitank to hold agro and not take too much damage while your gf heals you on her wiz. You can intimidate in fw's and so long as you arent taking too much damage she can keep up with heals.

The other is to go kensai, forget about ac 99% of the time, focus on dr, hitpoints, and damage. You can still intimidate and turtle up if thats needed, pull out a shield and have decent dr as a poorly geared brand new wf'd fighter, but be able to really lay the hurt down most of the time.

It goes like this, you run out and hit haste boost and intim, she throws a fw, you start tearing things up while she goes and grabs more mobs for her fw, throws a heal on you, you intim again.

The reason I bring this up is ac is truly a grind that doesnt pay off much until the highest levels of this game. At the early stages of the game its easy enough to get decent ac with a shield and some buffs in most quests. But to truly get untouchable is grindtastic. If youre not truly untouchable, you are going to require healing. If you cant kill mobs fast, that prolongs the healing.

If you pump up your dps you can be an effective killing machine, with moderate dr (for defense) and a decent intim score (enough for most trash and some bosses). It is much easier to build dps then ac. Now throw in the 4 build points you are missing with the 28 point build. Most ac builds you see around here are a minimum of 32 pts, many are 34 or 36 (6 or 8 more points then you will use). The difference really starts to show when you try to make an alt that can do several things well (ie:intim, ac or dr, and dps)

Just some food for thought. You can always cap him, and tr as a more defensive tank, getting more mdb and intim as well with the past life feat.

[Fishcatch22]

I sure wish they didn't make tanking so complex in this game... seems like healing and DPS is simplecakes in comparison. And I will be doing Kensai-ish stuff most of the time; I'm taking the whole THF line of upgrades so I will have good enough DPS with a Falchion/greataxe and PA. I will use DPS mode for most situations whilst leveling, and only turtle like a diamondback terrapin when I really need the AC. I will try SD at first, but if the Grindfest proves too infuriating, I'll just Respec into Kensai and try him as an AC tank again once I can TR him and I unlock 32pbs.

[Quikster]

I sure wish they didn't make tanking so complex in this game... seems like healing and DPS is simplecakes in comparison. And I will be doing Kensai-ish stuff most of the time; I'm taking the whole THF line of upgrades so I will have good enough DPS with a Falchion/greataxe and PA. I will use DPS mode for most situations whilst leveling, and only turtle like a diamondback terrapin when I really need the AC. I will try SD at first, but if the Grindfest proves too infuriating, I'll just Respec into Kensai and try him as an AC tank again once I can TR him and I unlock 32pbs.

Dont get me wrong, i am a major sd advocate here, and a bit downplayer of dps is the only way. That said, if you run some of the numbers that kensai boosts, you will be surprised. Then look at the amount of ac that defender II adds ( as most of the + from kensai is I and II, three is a big boost, but not so much in and of itself, its when combined with the other two that its so big)

With the d20 the way it is, until you get to end game, what you really buy with defender is the ability to have good ac without a shield. Kensai adds to damage, full time saves vs spells (sd is only better saves when in stance) and to tactics. A few tactics feats (stunning blow, imp trip) and you are taking about the same damage as a defender when you factor in the decreased killing time. Kensai and wf'd just scream tactics build to me.

Like I said, just something to chew on, ultimately you have to play it so make something you can live with

[Fishcatch22]

IF I did go Kensei... should I take Falchion or Greataxe?

[Quikster]

IF I did go Kensei... should I take Falchion or Greataxe?

Whichever you A. have more of, or B. think are cooler.

The difference in dps at end game is small compared to how much dps a well built wf'd kensai is putting out. The difference for a 28 pt build, for a guy and his girl to experience the game together is next to nothing. Dont get all caught up in the dps is king stuff here and put something together to have fun.

Virtually any build can lvl to cap no matter how messed up. The question is how much frustration will the player experience on his way there. With your girl following you around able to heal you if you get in trouble, and you following her able to intim, and slice and dice if she gets into trouble, you guys will have lots of fun. Dont skimp on str or con, make sure you get the right buffs, and go wreak havoc on Stormreach

AC while certainly rewarding is more niche as currently implemented in game. There are lots of top notch players that tear up DDO's end game that have never, ever played an ac to to gear (not to cap but to fully geared). It can be fun, but it isnt necessary. Hitpoints and dr can be your defense, pull out a shield and block when necessary, body pull small groups, use landscape to your advantage, etc etc etc. There are lots of ways to defend in this game.


Ill give you a quick example of dps differences.

Back when the cap was 16, and we were dealing with lots of dps lag, had no pre's to speak of (no kensai or frenzied, we had tempest 1) a lot less stellar gear, monks still sucked back then, and fighters/barbs were low on the dps totem pole. We did a 13 minute normal shroud run. I think another server did it in 12.

Now the current record is 10 minutes, thats before the ToD nerf for monks in a monk heavy party. We didnt have ToD at the time.

So you say ok well the pre's and better gear, maybe the lack of lag made it a bit faster.

Our run was composed of mostly dex based ac rangers.

What at the time was high dps would be considered moderate to low now (granted tempest is different, but we also had less fe damage). The total time difference between a monk (ToD) heavy party and a dex ranger party was 3 minutes.

Thats a raid that takes on average 15-45 minutes depending on the group, at the time though nobody was doing 15 minute shrouds regularly. 20-25 were common among the speed runners.

The point is that the dps difference between 2 weapons isnt the end of the world. Yeah if you go to a +1 falchion to an epic sword of shadows you are going to notice a huge difference, but between the same great axe and falchion you arent going to see a difference in quest ease or completion. The question is do you like to see the biggest numbers seldom, or not so big numbers more often. Does 1 fit better in your concept of the build (if there is one) does one look cooler, do you have a stockpile of one over the other and not a ton of plat to retool etc.

[Fishcatch22]

Whichever you A. have more of, or B. think are cooler.

The difference in dps at end game is small compared to how much dps a well built wf'd kensai is putting out. The difference for a 28 pt build, for a guy and his girl to experience the game together is next to nothing. Dont get all caught up in the dps is king stuff here and put something together to have fun.

Virtually any build can lvl to cap no matter how messed up. The question is how much frustration will the player experience on his way there. With your girl following you around able to heal you if you get in trouble, and you following her able to intim, and slice and dice if she gets into trouble, you guys will have lots of fun. Dont skimp on str or con, make sure you get the right buffs, and go wreak havoc on Stormreach

AC while certainly rewarding is more niche as currently implemented in game. There are lots of top notch players that tear up DDO's end game that have never, ever played an ac to to gear (not to cap but to fully geared). It can be fun, but it isnt necessary. Hitpoints and dr can be your defense, pull out a shield and block when necessary, body pull small groups, use landscape to your advantage, etc etc etc. There are lots of ways to defend in this game.


Ill give you a quick example of dps differences.

Back when the cap was 16, and we were dealing with lots of dps lag, had no pre's to speak of (no kensai or frenzied, we had tempest 1) a lot less stellar gear, monks still sucked back then, and fighters/barbs were low on the dps totem pole. We did a 13 minute normal shroud run. I think another server did it in 12.

Now the current record is 10 minutes, thats before the ToD nerf for monks in a monk heavy party. We didnt have ToD at the time.

So you say ok well the pre's and better gear, maybe the lack of lag made it a bit faster.

Our run was composed of mostly dex based ac rangers.

What at the time was high dps would be considered moderate to low now (granted tempest is different, but we also had less fe damage). The total time difference between a monk (ToD) heavy party and a dex ranger party was 3 minutes.

Thats a raid that takes on average 15-45 minutes depending on the group, at the time though nobody was doing 15 minute shrouds regularly. 20-25 were common among the speed runners.

The point is that the dps difference between 2 weapons isnt the end of the world. Yeah if you go to a +1 falchion to an epic sword of shadows you are going to notice a huge difference, but between the same great axe and falchion you arent going to see a difference in quest ease or completion. The question is do you like to see the biggest numbers seldom, or not so big numbers more often. Does 1 fit better in your concept of the build (if there is one) does one look cooler, do you have a stockpile of one over the other and not a ton of plat to retool etc.

Heh, quite a response there. I honestly figured it was just that simple a difference, but I thought I'd check, like if a Falchions roll being 2d4 having something to do with anything. I'll go with greataxes then, because given the choice, I always prefer axes to any other weapon in games. Swords are overrated, axes were knightly weapons with just as much valor associated with them as swords. They are not just the weapons of barbarians and brutes. I suppose I have a bit of an RPer in me about them. Its why my dwarf Tempest duals Daxes