Acrobat II/Monk?/Fighter? Build Advice

[PurpleTimb]

I could use some advice on where to go with my acrobat.

He started out using SigTrent's SpeedJunkie build. Currently he's at level 12 and I'm enjoying it immensely, but I'm worried about fleshing out the rest of the build.

The goal was solid DPS with self-sufficiency as part of a two halfling static team. The other half is a fighter with healing dragonmarks and intimidate. Both took halfling's companion so we could buff each other. Sig's build called for 12/6/2, with Acrobat II and Kensai I. I deviated from that, taking a third monk level for the healing; so now Kensai is out of reach. I was happy with that decision at the time, but now that update 9 is going to take away most of my healing, I'm not sure where my end goal should be.

17R/3M? 3 monk isn't that attractive anymore
13R/7M? more monk would mean more healing; what else does that bring?
13R/4F/3M? 4 fighter sounded okay when I got healing out of the deal, but how many more feats do I really need?
12R/5Pal/3M? not ideal, but at a few lay on hands with monk healing amp wouldn't be bad

Anyone have any great ideas?

Here are some details of my current build.

Halfling
Rogue 9/Monk 3
Starting stats 14,14,14,14,14,8; level-ups in str.

Feats (as of level 12):
Stunning blow
Power Attack
Toughness
Fists of Light
Two Handed Fighting
Improved Two Handed Fighting
IC: Bludgeoning
Weapon Focus: Bludgeoning

Thanks for any advice.

[Rusty_Can]

Rogue 9/Monk 3

I think your best option is 13 rogue (Acrobat II) - 6 monk (Ninja Spy I) - 1 fighter.

Feat-wise,
- Weapon Focus: Bludgeoning is not needed anymore, since you are not going Kensai;
- Ninja Spy I requires Dodge and you will need to change your Philosophy feat;
- 13 rogue will bring 2 class feats: I would pick Improved Evasion and Opportunist.

There are a few threads which address this kind of build; you can start here.

[SetofBs]

13 rogue/7 monk or 13/6/x are the best options IMO. 7 monk gives you access to more heal amp and wholeness of body, X gives you flexibility...fighter for a feat or ranger for favored enemy and sprint boost seem to be the best options.

[SetofBs]

Double post, sorry

[AMDarkwolf]

Warning: Running a 13/7 or 13/6/1 build acrobat WILL get u funny looks. I do not know why, no clue, but people just, for whatever reason, do NOT trust that setup.

Very hard to explain, when you have a build that can tank(with intim AND/OR hate) almost ANY boss in the game(Horoth is the exception, and if u can jack up your hp some, hes also doable), self heals for 3, 7, 11 per hit(Epic souleater) at silly attackspeed(This is quaterstaff build), can umd anything he wants to, with little (or no) chance to fail, has decent conc so don't often fail the conc check when casting scrolls, has maxed trap skills, balance, diplo, intim, tumble(for fun), umd, and bluff with as little as 10-12 starting int. And has over 350% heal amp. AND (Ninjaspy) Only gets hit in combat, ignoring ac, 35ish% of the time(Less with displace)


Its very hard to see why I get, VERY often, denied spots in NORMAL shroud. The leader of these groups often say they just do not trust my build, and take a 20 rog over me(which is fine, that's his choice, but being one of the only melees to have solo'ed shroud from start to finish, its odd.)

But, aside from the above, you WILL enjoy yourself. You have plenty of options, almost any race makes a good acrobat(Each has its own unique strengths and flavor, and none of them imo are 'gimp' in any way), and I've even met some who went finesse/dex and do alright.

The problem with the build, is that your best 'partner' then becomes a warchanter bard build :P

(Oh and a note, the fugly purple/pink text gave me a headache reading your post. LOL)

[PurpleTimb]

Thanks for your comments. Does anyone know about the chances of Tier III of Acrobat coming out? One of the benefits of 17R/3M is that it would only need a +1 HoW to pick up Acrobat III when/if it comes out. That seems like a pipedream though.

My biggest concern is survivability. 13R/7M would add more monk goodness to durability, as well as some more healing. Alternately, I could stick with the original plan and go 12R/4F/3M, using the three free fighter feats to pick up several toughness feats. But I don't know if I'd be able to keep my rogue skills up if those last four levels are all fighter, and I don't want to delay 12 rogue until 20.

Warning: Running a 13/7 or 13/6/1 build acrobat WILL get u funny looks. I do not know why, no clue, but people just, for whatever reason, do NOT trust that setup.

Good to know, but I run as a static duo, so this isn't as big a deal for me. I've kept my spot, search and DD maxed, so when I need to party for a raid I should be able to fill that role, at least short of some elites and epic.

[SetofBs]

Thanks for your comments. Does anyone know about the chances of Tier III of Acrobat coming out? One of the benefits of 17R/3M is that it would only need a +1 HoW to pick up Acrobat III when/if it comes out. That seems like a pipedream though.

My biggest concern is survivability. 13R/7M would add more monk goodness to durability, as well as some more healing. Alternately, I could stick with the original plan and go 12R/4F/3M, using the three free fighter feats to pick up several toughness feats. But I don't know if I'd be able to keep my rogue skills up if those last four levels are all fighter, and I don't want to delay 12 rogue until 20.

I've been searching the forums all week as I've been researching for my own acrobat build and I came across lots of posts from 2009 asking about acro III...so I personally would not base a build around that possibility.

IMO you should try to get 13r if you are going 12r, because level 13 gets you a second special ability and a sneak attack die. Also, you can save that last rogue level for last but still get Acro II before lvl 20 to round out skills.

[Rusty_Can]

Does anyone know about the chances of Tier III of Acrobat coming out?

No news.

My biggest concern is survivability. 13R/7M would add more monk goodness to durability, as well as some more healing. Alternately, I could stick with the original plan and go 12R/4F/3M, using the three free fighter feats to pick up several toughness feats.

My opinion:
- 13 rogue is definitely better than 12; you would gain 1 class feat, 1d6 sneak-attack damage, more skill points;
- 6 monk levels would provide you better stances (Adept) and, if you change your Philisophy, access to Ninja Spy I PrE; Ninja Spy I would provide 1d6 sneak-attack damage (stacking with your rogue's sneak-attack damage), Shadow Fade (i.e. 25% incorporeality miss chance, stacking with concealment), situationally useful elemental curses (target is 10% more vulnerable to elemental damage);
- I would prefer 6 monk - 1 fighter or ranger over 7 monk: fighter would provide one combat feat, Toughness I class enhancement (+10 hp), Fighter Haste Boost I (15% bonus to attack speed), Strategy Enhancements I (+1 to DC of your Stunning Blow and Trip attempts); ranger would provide Sprint Boosts, some bonus against Favored Enemies, Bow Strength (situationally useful, if you need to range something).

[destiny4405]

Shadow Fade (i.e. 25% incorporeality miss chance, stacking with concealement)

you mean shadow fade stacks with displacement? how long does shadow fade last? it doesn't break on taking an action i hope?

also, is concealement bonus from displacement and fogs/clouds the same or do they stack?

[Rusty_Can]

you mean shadow fade stacks with displacement?

Displacement and Blur provide Concealment effect, Shadow Fade Incorporeality; their miss chances are checked separately, thus they stack.

how long does shadow fade last?

It lasts 1 minute and its cooldown is 6 seconds;thus, you can keep it going as long as you have enough Ki (cost is 15 Ki) and you are centered. As a side note, Ninja Spies I stay centered when wielding shortswords.

it doesn't break on taking an action i hope?

Shadow Fade has 2 components: Invisibility and Incorporeality; the Invisibility bit behaves like the standard Invisibility spell (e.g. it drops attacking or interacting with doors, levers and such); Incorporeality stays. Moreover, Shadow Fade is not negated by True Seeing and cannot be dispelled.

also, is concealement bonus from displacement and fogs/clouds the same or do they stack?

When you have multiple sources of concealment effects, only the highest applies.

[Spoonman457]

I would recommend skimming Phenks Big F'n Stick page (it in the custom builds section of the forums), it has 80 pages of acrobat/monk goodness, lots of information on survivability, gear setups and what sticks are a must have, the first page has 3 different builds that Phenks has used and capped, but u9 is going to bring a lot of changes, so you may want to wait to see how that will play out.

[Vanquishedfo]

id say go with the 13/7 rogue monk ninja spy combo so many have suggested. Monk 7 will give you thier self healing trance state. U will get some solid sneak attack dps over all, oh and ninja spies can turn invisible at will which though not a bid deal is kind of cool, especially when combined with a CC event fog grenade.

cant really say more then that beside, then u can also use shortswords now and then for added weapon flexibility.

[Cardtrick]

My personal preference is for a 13/6/1 acro/kensai/monk build, but that's not available for you.

Given that, I agree that you're better off going 13/7 acro/ninja spy and forgetting about the fighter level altogether. You won't need the extra fighter feat, and you already have haste boost from your rogue levels (it's required for acrobat, after all). The 7th level of monk gives you access to Improved Recovery II (which you should definitely take) and Void Strike II (if you can afford the APs -- which you probably can't).

Be sure to take Adept of Rain II and then Unbalancing Strike -- give yourself sneak attacks! With only two of you running, you're not always going to be able to flank enemies, so anything that gives you sneak attacks despite that is going to be very powerful.

[PurpleTimb]

Thanks for all your responses. I'm not familiar with the dark monk stuff; I guess I need to read up on the Ninja Spy Pre.