Challenge: Melee 101 Forum Guide

[Teech]

So, here's a simple challenge to our many friendly guides out there.
Show Turbine how its done. Write your own Melee 101.
Keep in mind the points Fordy mentioned and try your hand at it.
- Aimed at complete newbie players. Light on jargon.
(Assume no MMO or D&D experience)
- Aimed to help players that know nothing get straight into the action and have fun right away. Not focused only on late game
- Focus on need-to-know so that you don't overwhelm newbs and they can focus on the here-and-now playing of DDO.

Much of these 101 guides are new and experimental, as they're aimed at complete newbie players. The general approach with Character Stats 101 and Melee 101 is to assume that whoever is reading them knows absolutely nothing, but wants to play and have fun right away.

To that end, the 101 guides avoid getting too jargon-heavy early-on (hence Character Stats 101) or late-game-focused, which is why Dodge was originally favored. New DDO players are getting a lot thrown at them both in- and out-game, so the goal has been to reduce the noise level and focus on the here-and-now of learning to play DDO. From that perspective, for a new player, some feats appear more appealing than others.

Writing these guides is very akin to learning how to play DDO the first time

When you're done, post the link here for easy access for all forumites.
I'll also keep a running list on this OP so others won't have to trawl through the whole thread for your guide.

C'mon guys. Show Turbine how its done. =)

Forum Submissions (last update 6th May 2011)

1) TheDjinnFor's modifications to Melee 101

2) ceiswyn's Melee 101

[kyleann]

So, here's a simple challenge to our many friendly guides out there.
Show Turbine how its done. Write your own Melee 101.
Keep in mind the points Fordy mentioned and try your hand at it.
- Aimed at complete newbie players. Light on jargon.
(Assume no MMO or D&D experience)
- Aimed to help players that know nothing get straight into the action and have fun right away. Not focused only on late game
- Focus on need-to-know so that you don't overwhelm newbs and they can focus on the here-and-now playing of DDO.



When you're done, post the link here for easy access for all forumites.
I'll also keep a running list on this OP so others won't have to trawl through the whole thread for your guide.

C'mon guys. Show Turbine how its done. =)

I believe you deserve a bumpity bump.

We can show Turbine they don't need to spend money on things that can be gotten better and for free by turning to their players!

[TheDjinnFor]

I posted this in the other forums so I'll repost it here. It's a modification of the existing guide. with the additions I want made in green, and any removals I want made in red.

Paths Versus Customization

When you create a character, DDO offers you a choice between total character customization and a "Path." By selecting a path, DDO assigns you with a set of pre-determined skills, feats, and Ability Scores to create the type of character the path describes, such as a dual-wielding barbarian.

A path isn't necessarily worse or better than straight-up customizing your DDO character from the beginning – and you can always opt-out of a path as you progress through the game. However, players looking to maximize the things they like best (such as a fighter who tears everything up with two weapons!) should read this guide to get started with customization in DDO! Customization will help you unlock your characters potential in a way that best suits your playing style.

Suggested Races for Melee Styles

The beauty of DDO is that no choice is really the "wrong" one. Sure, some choices are more practical than others, but this is your character after all, and you can certainly make an elf barbarian, if you so desire!

However, for the sake of simplicity, we'll highlight the most immediately beneficial races for melee classes:

• Human

Humans have no positive Ability Score modifiers; they also have no negative Ability Score modifiers. Additionally, their extra feat and four additional skill points at level 1 make them a highly versatile option for any class.

• Dwarf

Dwarves have an inherent bonus to health, and proficiency with dwarven axes – so if you want to swing those around, you should probably select dwarf. There's a reason it's not called a "halfling axe!". Their enhancements help them wield all axes more powerfully and with better accuracy, however, so they're versatile in that regard.

• Warforged

Similar to a dwarf in that both have ample health, warforged have several immunities against things like poison, sleep effects, disease and more. Additionally, since they don't breathe air (they're magical constructs, after all) warforged do not have to worry about drowning! Warforged also receive a penalty to incoming healing spells, being more machine than they are alive, but are the only race that can be healed by the wizards repairing spells!

• Half-orc

With the exception of paladin, half-orcs make amazing melee characters because of their health and physical damage-output bonuses. Of course, if you want to be a pretty boy (or girl!) maybe they're not for you.

• Half-elf

Now, if you do want to be a pretty boy (or girl!) then perhaps this race is for you! Exemplified by the word "versatile," half-elf's mixed heritage allows them to blend other class traits (simply by choosing a feat) with their chosen class build. Half-elves also excel at intimidating their foes in combat, making them effective defenders.

Suggested Skills for Melee Styles

Many classes within the melee styles use similar skills, although some skills are more useful to say, a monk, than perhaps a fighter. Feel free to make your own judgment call on what skills will best serve you!

• Intimidate

Key Ability: Charisma
Plan to play defense during enemy encounters? Intimidate will aid you in drawing the attention of your enemies, so only invest in this if you'll be doing such a thing!

• Jump

Key Ability: Strength
DDO has active combat, so being able to jump high – which is exactly what investing skill points into Jump allows you to do – is incredibly useful! A general rule is that 10 points will do just fine.

• Balance

Key Ability: Dexterity
Enemies will often attempt to knock you down, and balance is important because while you're making friends with the floor, enemies are still attacking! The fighter class isn't a natural with the Balance skill; each skill point will only raise Balance by half, so keep that in mind.

• Tumble

Key Ability: Dexterity
Put at least one point into Tumble, otherwise your character won't be able to roll or side-step in combat – which is done by pressing "Shift" + a movement key.

• Concentration

Key Ability: Constitution
The monk relies on ki for special attacks, and concentration allows you to retain a higher base ki. Concentration also slows the rate at which your built-up ki dissipates.

Tip! Intelligence affects how many skill points you get each level. While barbarians have many class skill options, it isn't necessary to have a high intelligence score, because you're going to want strength and constitution more than most other scores.

Suggested Feats

In this section of Melee 101, we'll suggest some feats for the various classes that fall under this style of play. However, remember that these are merely suggestions, and that experimentation is always a good idea in DDO.

Tip! Press the "C" key on your keyboard to open your character window. From here, click the "Feats" tab to see all the feats you get just for earning a new level in your class. These feats don't automatically set themselves in your hotbar!

Useful Feats for Any Melee Class

Some feats are just plain useful! Melee classes can never go wrong with these feats:

• Two Handed Fighting
  

Swing a two-handed weapon into multiple foes, like a boss!
Requires: Strength 15 (or higher)
Increases the damage of glancing blows (regular attacks that strike multiple enemies) when wielding a two-handed weapon by 10%. Also grants a 3% chance for weapon effects to trigger on glancing blows. Don't forget to take Improved Two Handed Fighting and Greater Two Handed Fighting too for even more powerful glancing blows!

• Two Weapon Fighting
  

Take this feat to feel like a dual-wielding, dragon-slaying machine.
Requires: Dexterity 15 (or higher)
Reduces the penalty for fighting with two weapons; increases the chance to produce off-hand attacks when fighting with two weapons (or as an unarmed monk) by 20% to 40%. Don't forget to take Improved Two Weapon Fighting and Greater Two Weapon Fighting for even more off-hand attacks! Tip!Toughness is useful initially, but where it really shines is opening up bonus Toughness enhancements that further increase your health quota.

• Toughness

Like a brick house, this feat boosts your survivability!
Increases your hit points, affording your character greater survivability. It never hurts to have additional health, even if you're playing a sturdy class like fighter or paladin! Tip!Toughness is useful initially, but where it really shines is opening up bonus Toughness enhancements that further increase your health quota.

• Power Attack

Using melee weaponry? Hit harder! Feel stronger!
Requires: Strength 13 (or higher)
When using Power Attack mode, you trade some accuracy (+5 attack bonus) for an equal amount of damage. Power Attack adds double the bonus to damage if you're using a two-handed weapon, although even if you're dual-wielding weapons, it's still a very worthwhile feat!

• Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons
  

Increase your chance to land a critical hit with slashing weapons!
Requires: Base Attack Bonus +8
Doubles the base critical hit threat range of any slashing weapon you use. This feat does not stack with item effects that double threat range like keen and impact. Performing critical hits twice as often is useful on any melee character!

• Combat Expertise
  

Want to play defensively? Use this mode to trade accuracy for more of it!
Requires: Intelligence 13 (or higher)
While using Combat Expertise mode, you trade up to 5 of your attack bonus for the same amount of extra AC. Spells cost double spell points to cast when this mode is active. This is an essential feat for players who want their characters to have a high Armor Class, but note that this requires at least 13 Intelligence, which may require a sacrifice in other stats to get.

Fighter

This class can use a wide variety of weapons, all sorts of shields, and the sturdiest of armors. They can also train in several more combat abilities than the other melee classes. Whether you want to wield one big weapon, two regular-sized weapons or sword-and-shield – the fighter can accommodate.

Don't forget about useful feats for any melee style class.

• Two Handed Fighting
  

Swing a two-handed weapon into multiple foes, like a boss!
Requires: Strength 15 (or higher)
Increases the damage of glancing blows (regular attacks that strike multiple enemies) when wielding a two-handed weapon by 10%. Also grants a 3% chance for weapon effects to trigger on glancing blows.

• Two Weapon Fighting
  

Take this feat to feel like a dual-wielding, dragon-slaying machine.
Requires: Dexterity 15 (or higher)
Reduces the penalty for fighting with two weapons; increases the chance to produce off-hand attacks when fighting with two weapons (or as an unarmed monk) by 20% to 40%. Tip!Toughness is useful initially, but where it really shines is opening up bonus Toughness enhancements that further increase your health quota.

• Combat Expertise
  

Want to play defensively? Use this mode to trade accuracy for more of it!
Requires: Intelligence 13 (or higher)
While using Combat Expertise mode, you trade up to 5 of your attack bonus for the same amount of extra AC. Spells cost double spell points to cast when this mode is active. This is an essential feat for players who want their characters to have a high Armor Class, but note that this requires at least 13 Intelligence, which may require a sacrifice in other stats to get.

• Weapon Focus: Slashing
  

Hone your skills in a unique weapon style!
Fighters have plenty of feats, so a feat that gives them an extra +1 bonus to their attack rolls for all slashing weapons is sure to be useful. You can instead take bludgeoning, piercing, or any other option, but slashing weapons tend to be the most versatile.

• Weapon Specialization: Slashing
  

Use your weapons to their fullest potential!
Fighters have plenty of feats, so a feat that gives them an extra +2 bonus to damage for all slashing weapons is sure to be useful. You can instead take bludgeoning, piercing, or any other option, but slashing weapons tend to be the most versatile.

[edit] Barbarian

Barbarians are able to absorb a good deal of damage, but that isn't their primary purpose. What barbarians do incredibly well in DDO is overwhelm their enemies with raw physical might. A barbarian using their rage feat can tear through almost any foe – armored or not.

Don't forget about useful feats for any melee style class.

• Two Handed Fighting

Swing a two-handed weapon into multiple foes, like a boss!
Requires: Strength 15 (or higher)
Increases the damage of glancing blow attacks when wielding a two-handed weapon by 10% (from a base of 20% normal weapon damage). Also grants a 3% chance for weapon effects to trigger on glancing blows.

• Stunning Blow

Stun a foe, or two if you're dual-wielding!
Using this attack, you may stun the target for a few seconds. Some creatures may be immune to the stun effect. A successful Fortitude save negates this effect. (DC 10 + Str mod)

• Cleave

Swing your weaponry through a group of enemies!
Requires: Power Attack (feat)
Activate this ability to attack one or more enemies in an arc in front of you. Barbarians need this feat to qualify for their prestige enhancement, Frenzied Berserker, so be sure to take it!

• Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons
  

Increase your chance to land a critical hit with slashing weapons!
Requires: Base Attack Bonus +8
Doubles the base critical hit threat range of any slashing weapon you use. This feat does not stack with item effects that double threat range like keen and impact.

Paladin

Most people see a heavily-armored paladin and think, "Oh that class just gets attacked a lot." While it's true that a paladin can be built into one of DDO's most supreme defensive classes, they can also deign to smite evil with tenacious divine magic, really big weapons, or even dual-wielding weapons!

Don't forget about useful feats for any melee style class.

• Extend Spell

Your beneficial paladin spells will last twice as long.
While this metamagic feat is active, spells with durations last twice as long, but they consume 10 additional spell points.

• Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons
  

Increase your chance to land a critical hit with slashing weapons!
Requires: Base Attack Bonus +8
Doubles the base critical hit threat range of any slashing weapon you use. This feat does not stack with item effects that double threat range like keen and impact.

[edit] Monk

The monk is a guru of dodging attacks and dealing out large amounts of damage. Considered a somewhat advanced class by most players, the monk takes a fair amount of know-how about DDO and the D&D 3.5 rule set to truly master. Don’t let that scare you, though! Monks are a really fun class to play.

Don't forget about useful feats for any melee style class.

• Luck of Heroes

Become more resilient against the dangers of Eberron!
You survive when no one expects you to come through. You receive a +1 to all saves. (ie Will, Reflex, & Fortitude). This feat is required to qualify for the Shintao Monk prestige enhancement.

• Stunning Fist

Feel like a deadly ninja; stun foes with your bare hands!(Fists?)
Requires: Monk class
A swift unarmed attack to vulnerable areas that cause your target to be stunned for a short period of time.

Advanced Customization & Enhancements

Tip! Enhancements are different than ability scores, skills, and feats; enhancements are never permanent choices. You may reset your chosen enhancements for free once a week has passed, or for a set amount of in-game currency at whatever time you prefer.

If you need the basic run-down on enhancements, click here to read Character Stats 101!

Enhancement suggestions are tricky because of their flexibility. When building any character in DDO, you should always be planning ahead. This advice applies to skills, feats, ability scores & enhancements. Here's a good example why:

A player -- let's call him "Gary" -- wants to build himself a heavily-armored fighter variant.

Sounds like a great idea! I'd highly suggest taking the Dodge feat, as it gives a +1 bonus to AC that stacks with all other bonuses to AC. However, there's a prerequisite (a requirement that must first be met) before Gary can take Dodge. The prerequisite is that Gary's character must have a Dexterity (Dex) score of 13.

When making a new character remember to look at the ability score screen, because every even-numbered ability score increase (12, 14, 16, etc) raises your ability score modifier by +1. Unfortunately, because of this even-numbered +1 many new players assume that having an odd number (such as Dex 13) has no inherent value – this is untrue!

For example, Dodge is a highly useful feat; it's possible to learn Dodge at level 1, but Dodge requires a Dex score of 13 or higher. If Gary wants Dodge, he's going to need that 13 Dex first!

So how can Gary know this ahead of time?

There’s a sorting option to show “unavailable,” during character creation and in-game on your character sheet (press "C" on your keyboard). By selecting this you can see all the character abilities yet to come – whether you qualify or not.

This is a great way to plan your character growth! You can also look up feats, enhancements, and more in the Compendium, where you can search or browse around by class and other sorting options

That concludes Melee 101, but feel free to leaves your own tips and tricks in the comment section below!

I don't play Paladins and Monks much, so I can't make any recommendations for them.

[Cordovan]

If we do see folks put together their own 101 guides for this effort, please consider adding them to the DDO Compendium! You can find a list of our Community-Created Guides here.

[ceiswyn]

Well, I said I would, so here's my attempt!

Disclaimer: I've included some ideas that are less than optimal. These are present for one of three reasons:
1. New players will want to try suboptimal strategies whether we mention them or not, so we should at least provide enough guidelines to prevent them ending up truly gimped;
2. While the way various things have been positioned or implemented sucks, it's not a good idea to make this explicit to potential players;
3. I'm incompetent.

---
MELEE 101

D&D Online is almost unique in giving you total control over the statistics, skills, feats and enhancements that define your character. This lets you exercise your creativity to combine these things in unusual ways to come up with a character that is completely unique to you - but at the same time the sheer number of options can look a little bewildering at first glance!

If you just want to get playing without worrying about your stats then stop reading here: Turbine offers a set of 'paths' that you can follow at character generation and at each level up, so you can experience all the fun of questing with your friends without having to know anything about the system. But if you want to create and play your own individual character, read on for some tips that will help you maximize your fun and avoid some of the most common pitfalls.

MELEE IN D&D ONLINE
A 'melee character' is any character that gets up close and personal with his or her enemies. There are a lot of different styles of melee; you might want to maximize your damage output to kill enemies faster, hold your enemies' attention ('tank') so your friends can attack them without getting hurt, or simply be a good all-rounder who can deal damage, take damage, and maybe provide a few extras such as emergency healing or spells to make your allies more effective.

Tip: While good armor can help you avoid getting hurt at low levels, the enemies later in the game are much better at finding your weak spots. If you want to play a character with armor that turns away blows at high levels, you will need to decide on that early and plan it carefully. Other characters won't suffer from having a low armor class (AC) as long as they have enough hit points or damage reduction to survive being hit.

CHOOSING A CLASS
There are four classes in D&D Online that are primarily designed for melee. These are:

Fighter
For all-round melee ability, you can't beat a fighter (he normally beats you). Naturally skilled with all kinds of weapons, shields and armor, and with an incredible 11 extra feats by level 20, fighters really can do it all.

Barbarian
CHAAAAAAAAAARGE! The barbarian sacrifices any kind of self-defence in exchange for sheer damage output. Clad only in a loincloth (or at best, a medium breastplate) this is the class that no enemy wants to see running at them waving a greataxe. Make sure you have enough hit points to survive all those hits you're going to take!

Paladin
Paladins do well at attacking enemies, especially when using their 'smite evil' attack, but where they really shine is in the support they give to the rest of the party. A holy aura and limited spellcasting lets them improve the offensive and defensive abilities of others as well as themselves, and in an emergency they can bring allies back from the brink of death. The paladin is also a good choice for a high AC tank.

Monk
Bare-handed fighters with a wide variety of different attacks, monks can capitalize on the vulnerabilities of almost any enemy. Combining different attacks in sequence can also provide extra benefits such as boosting your allies' attacks and saves or blinding your enemies. Monks travel light; they wear no armour heavier than cloth, and their martial arts training limits them to fighting bare-handed or with specific weapons such as kamas. Note that at level 3 all monks are required to choose between a light philosophy (which gives them abilities that help their allies) and a dark philosophy (which gives them abilities that hinder or do additional damage to their enemies). You should consider the kind of playstyle you prefer before choosing.

You are not limited to these classes if you want to melee - in your travels through Stormreach you may encounter rangers, rogues and even clerics standing shoulder to shoulder with you against your foes - but these are the classes that do it best.

CHOOSING A RACE
As well as a class, you need to choose a race. Again, some races gravitate more naturally to melee than others. Good choices for a melee character include:

Human
Humans are the most common race in Xen'drik, and there is good reason for this. Their strength is in their adaptability; an extra feat comes in very useful when playing a barbarian or paladin, and similarly extra skill points and enhancements that can boost any stat as well as attack rolls, damage and saves make them a good choice for any class.

Dwarf
Never comment on their height. Dwarves are one of the toughest races in Xen'drik, starting with an extra 2 points in Constitution, and able to increase that stat still further through enhancements. They're also rather good with axes, making them an attractive proposition as either two-handed greataxe specialists, or as two-weapon fighters with a dwarven axe in each hand. A starting penalty to Charisma, however, means they rarely make good paladins.

Warforged (Available from the DDO Store, or can be unlocked through play)
Forged from metal and magic, warforged are immune to many of the problems that can strike their fleshy friends. They have increased Constitution at the cost of decreased Wisdom and Charisma, and can boost their armour class and damage reduction through specialist feats and enhancements. Beware, though, as their metal flesh is hard to heal, and warforged characters are advised to carry their own repair pots or befriend a wizard with repair spells!

Half-Elf (Available from the DDO Store, or can be unlocked through play)
Half-elves have much of the adaptability of humans; a special Dilettante feat allows them to access some of the benefits of another class. For example, a half-elven fighter might take the Barbarian Dilettante feat, giving him a small amount of damage reduction and allowing him to take later enhancements to improve Constitution and hit points, or the Paladin Dilettante feat to give him some limited healing capabilities.

Half-Orc (Available from the DDO Store, or can be unlocked through play)
It's clobberin' time! They may not be pretty, but no other race can equal a half-orc for sheer strength. They also have access to enhancements that further increase their attack power and damage, and the effectiveness of the Power Attack feat. Half-orcs tend to make poor paladins but excellent barbarians.

If you want to play a Dexterity-based melee character (see below) then you might also consider a Halfling, who begin with bonuses to their Dexterity stat, or a Drow, whose bonuses to Dexterity and Charisma make them good candidates for Dexterity-based paladins (the Drow race is available from the DDO Store, or can be unlocked through play).

PRIMARY STATS
The primary stats for all melee characters are Strength and Constitution. Consider raising both of these to 16 at character creation. No melee character should ever have a starting Constitution of less than 12 (and preferably not less than 14), as it's hard to hit things when you're dead! Constitution determines both your base hit points and how likely you are to shrug off the effects of poison, disease and other effects.

You might also consider putting some points into Dexterity, as this improves your reflex saves and means you take less damage from spells and traps. You can even create a melee character whose primary stat is Dexterity rather than Strength, using the Weapon Finesse and Two Weapon Fighting feats (described later), but your Strength will still determine how much damage you do, so make sure you have enough to give your enemies a good hard whack!

Monks and paladins also need some additional stats. Monks should put some points into Wisdom as this increases their ki (a resource similar to mana that they use to perform special attacks) and gives them a bonus to armor class. They may also find a high Dexterity useful, as it combines with their innate Evasion abilities to avoid damage from traps and spells.

Paladins will find that a good Wisdom increases their mana, but it is more important to have a good Charisma as this boosts their saves and determines the effectiveness of their 'lay on hands' healing and special 'smite evil' attack. Note that this means there are four different stats that are important to the paladin class; it's not easy being a paragon of good!

Tip: In most cases you should aim to end up with even-numbered stats, as you receive a bonus to related skills at each even number. However, odd-numbered stats are often sufficient to meet the prerequisites for a feat.

Note that stats can be increased permanently using +1 and +2 tomes (available from the DDO Store, or as a rare drop in chests) as well as by enhancements and occasionally through leveling. You will also find items that boost your stats, adding as much as 6 to them at high levels. For example, a paladin with a base Wisdom of 10 would still be able to cast his highest level spells (level 4) as long as he found a +4 Wisdom item to help him.

Tip: The only way to change your stats (other than by increasing them using enhancements and tomes) is by reincarnating your character using a Lesser or Greater Heart of Wood (available from the DDO Store).

USEFUL SKILLS
Melee combat in D&D Online involves more than just taking and giving damage. Here are some skills that will help give your character the edge, or rescue situations that are spiraling out of control.

Balance (based on Dexterity)
The main use of Balance is to get you back on your feet after you've been knocked down. Characters do no damage while lying on their backs; they also make a (literal) sitting target. Note that this is only a class skill for monks, so fighters, paladins and barbarians will have to pay twice as many skill points for each point of Balance.

Concentration (based on Constitution)
Monks need a high Concentration score, as this (along with Wisdom) affects their ki and therefore their special attacks. Paladins may also choose to take some points in Concentration to prevent being rudely interrupted in the middle of spellcasting by unreasonable people trying to kill them.

Intimidate (based on Charisma)
'Oi, you! Yes, you, the ugly one! Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!'
Intimidate helps you get your enemies' attention. This is an essential skill for tank builds, but can also be useful for other melee characters; even if you can't keep the boss focused on you through a raid, your party's wizard will thank you for pulling the monsters off him for long enough to heal up! Note that intimidation is not a class skill for monks.

Jump (based on Strength)
When you're hemmed in by your foes and taking damage at a terrifying rate, it's useful to be able to jump over them to freedom. Jump can also help you reach high ledges or avoid pits full of spikes, which may be useful in some quests. But don't worry too much if your paladin has all the jumping ability of a sea snail; taking off your armor and drinking a Jump potion will let you clear most obstacles.

Monks following the dark philosophy may also want to consider taking points in Hide and Move Silently, as dark monks are particularly suited to striking from the shadows.

Tip: If you intend to play solo most of the time, you should consider taking a few points in Spot even if it is not a class skill for you. As well as telling you when there is a hidden door or a trap nearby, it lets you see foes at greater distances. Many a barbarian, lying bleeding to death in a sewer after charging at a single kobold that turned out to have ten hidden friends, has wished he'd listened to his mother and looked before he leaped.

USEFUL FEATS
There are well over 50 different feats available, and you can select any of them for your character. However with many characters only gaining a total of 7 feats by the time they reach level 20, it's worth spending a little time thinking about which feats will be most useful for the style of melee you want to play. A few suggestions are listed below.

Note that some feats have prerequisites, such as Two Weapon Fighting which requires a Dexterity of 15 or more. Any stat bonuses you receive from items or enhancements do not count towards these prerequisites.

Cleave (prerequisite: Power Attack feat, Strength 13+)
Want to hit lots of enemies at once? Cleave is the feat for you! Barbarians may especially want to take this feat in order to access the Frenzied Berserker enhancements that let you do even more damage to even more enemies. You can also go on to take the Great Cleave feat and tackle entire armies by yourself!

Combat Expertise (prerequisite: Intelligence 13+)
The Combat Expertise feat allows characters to sacrifice their chance to hit enemies in order to reduce their chance to be hit in return. Although it requires more investment in the Intelligence stat than ideal for a melee character, fighters and paladins who want to act as 'tanks' may still take this feat in order to access their different sets of defensive enhancements.

Dodge (prerequisite: Dexterity 13+)
While the minor increase in armor class this feat provides is not useful for most melee characters, the Dodge feat is a prerequisite for the dark monk Ninja Spy enhancements. If you like the idea of sneaking about invisibly and striking foes from out of nowhere, consider acquiring this feat at a low level.

Power Attack (prerequisite: Strength 13+)
You may not hit things quite as often, but you do a lot of damage when you do! Power Attack is especially useful for Half Orcs or characters specializing in two-handed weapons. Taking Power Attack also lets you take the Cleave feat in the future.

Stunning Blow (no prerequisite)
There's more to melee than hack'n'slash, and Stunning Blow is just one of the ways to add some tactics to your combat. A successful Stunning Blow attack renders your target stunned and helpless for several seconds, letting you do extra damage to him while he is unable to hit you back. This feat is especially useful for characters with a high Strength, although note that some enemies can't be stunned.

Toughness (no prerequisite)
Sometimes everybody gets hurt. Toughness is what prevents your character dying from paper cuts. As well as additional hit points, this feat lets you access Toughness enhancements that improve your hit points further. You can even take Toughness multiple times, for when you really, really don't want to die.

Two Handed Fighting (prerequisite: Strength 15+)
How much damage can one person do with a single greatsword? If you take this feat you just might find out! Especially useful for fighters and barbarians. Note that although Strength 15+ is required for this feat, you might want to improve your Strength to 17+ in later levels in order to access more feats in this series.

Two Weapon Fighting (prerequisite: Dexterity 15+)
Why use one weapon when you can use two? While any character can try to fight with two weapons (or fists), the Two Weapon Fighting feat reduces the penalty you suffer from trying to coordinate using both hands at once. This feat works best with light weapons such as shortswords or kamas, making it popular with monks. Note that although Dexterity 15+ is required for this feat, you might want to improve your Dexterity to 17+ in later levels in order to access more feats in this series.

Weapon Finesse (prerequisite: Dexterity 13+, monks must be level 2 or higher to take this feat)
Weapon Finesse is useful for a character whose Dexterity is higher than her Strength. It lets you use Dexterity rather than Strength for making attacks with light weapons such as daggers or rapiers, although the damage you do is still determined by your Strength. You might consider taking this feat on a Dexterity-based monk character or a dual-weapon wielder.

Weapon Focus (prerequisite: none, but monks must be level 2 or higher to take this feat)
This feat improves your chance to hit with a specific weapon type. Fighters may want to take this feat in order to access the Kensei enhancements that improve their abilities with a specified weapon.

It is important to remember that this is only a tiny selection of the feats that might be useful to you. You can find out what any feat does by hovering your mouse over a feat in the feat selection dialog, and this may inspire you to take a less popular feat that is more useful for your specific character. Don't be afraid to experiment!

Tip: If you change your mind about a feat you can exchange it for a different feat using a Siberys Dragonshard (available from the DDO Store or from combining looted dragonshard fragments). Note that the higher level you are when you decide to change feats, the more difficult it will be to acquire a dragonshard of good enough quality.

ENHANCEMENTS
As your adventuring makes you more experienced you will be able to spend points on enhancements to improve your abilities. Some enhancements improve skills and stats you already have; some provide you with entirely new capabilities. Some enhancements require you to have already bought certain feats or other enhancements; you can find out what you need for these by hovering your mouse over any enhancement to bring up the description. Check the Show Unavailable box below the enhancement list to see any enhancements you haven't met the requirements for yet.

Tip: Don't worry about getting your enhancements right, as you can reset them at any time at the cost of some in-game money. Feel free to experiment to find out what works for you!

MULTICLASSING
As well as playing a pure class melee character, D&D Online lets you take up to two additional classes. For example, instead of a level 20 fighter you could play a level 18 fighter and a level 2 paladin. Multiclassing can let you add the unique abilities of another class (such as, in the example given, the paladin 'lay on hands', holy aura, and saves bonus) to your character, but you lose the benefits of the class 'capstone' that you can access as a pure class at level 20.

Tip: Some combinations of classes are not possible. For example, you can't be a barbarian/monk because barbarians require your character to have the alignment 'chaotic', whereas monks must be lawful.

The most successful multiclass builds are those where the classes use some of the same stats and skills, but you will need to watch out for clashes. For example monk and paladin might work well together because both are fighter classes that require the Wisdom stat and Concentration skill, but remember that you will lose your monk abilities if your character wears the traditional paladin platemail-and-shield!

Multiclassing provides the scope for really creative and interesting characters, but you should ideally be very comfortable with the strengths and weaknesses of all the classes involved before you attempt it.

But above all, have fun building your character; and we hope you enjoy playing a character whose combination of stats, skills, feats and enhancements probably makes them entirely unique!

[ceiswyn]

Maybe I should change my name to 'Threadslayer'.

[Teech]

Maybe I should change my name to 'Threadslayer'.

Its not you. People prefer to comment on Fordy's thread but not too many want to take the time to type out an actual guide is all I guess. I think you made a great effort!

[elujin]

indeed good efford there some mistakes though.
you mention somewhere pally spell are granted by cha while its wis you must thinking about fvs.
and for new players you could sugest a (verry)small wis investment and mebey add somthing about devine might too cha bonuses.

and i would add
halflings a good(ish) fit for monks
drow for twf paladins

dwarfs somthing about free dwarven axes use.

end yeah elf arn't that greath guess they could make decent first toon twf fighter but the con hurts.

You are not limited to these classes if you want to melee - in your travels through Stormreach you may encounter rangers, rogues and even clerics standing shoulder to shoulder with you against your foes - but these are the classes that do it best.

and my bard will put a great axe true your head for this ,
and i am sure there is a bunch of fvs's hunting you too

overall verry good and thx for putting in the time
+1

[ceiswyn]

you mention somewhere pally spell are granted by cha while its wis you must thinking about fvs.

Oh good lord, you're quite right. I should have known there'd be at least one egregious error in there Going back to fix now.

and i would add
halflings a good(ish) fit for monks
drow for twf paladins

Good point about drow; I've seen a few good drow pallies about the place. Maybe just one more tiny edit wouldn't hurt...

Thanks for the feedback, that was really helpful!

And somewhat worryingly, I kinda enjoyed writing that guide. Pondering whether I have the time to do a 'casters' one too...

[Waylayer]

So, here's a simple challenge to our many friendly guides out there.

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Forum Submissions (last update 6th June 2011)

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[/URL]

[danotmano1998]

This thread I started.

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php...63#post3776263

Which was in the wrong section, I guess. Thanks.