FvS AC problem :(

[settoloki]

I had a level 13 Drow FvS from a few years back sitting on my account so i decided to lesser reincarnate her and give it another go. I am fairly happy with my result, she is jack of all trades master of none lol probably not bukilt for end game, but nether the less alot of fun to play, sort of made things up as I went along. My issue is not really knowing what gear to go after, my ac is only 23 unbuffed which makes me failry squishy in game. I am contenplating a couple of levels of monk for evasion and the wisdom mod to my ac, but not sure if this is worth loosing the dr, extra spells, a resistance, and +1 with shortswords over?

my current set up is

Level 13

Str 24
Dex 24
Con 18
Int 12
Wis 23
Cha 24

and my gear is

Head Teraza's Sight (+5 wisdom) = would swap this to a +6 wisdom item when I find one
Neck con +5
Goggles Attack Bonus +1
Body Garments of Equilibrium (heavy fort, concentration +13)
Bracers Armour Bonus +6
boots Dex +6
gloves none
ring 1 splinterskull Acolyte Ring
ring 2 Resistance +4
belt Strength +6
cloak Charisma +6
trinket Power X

weapon 1 Dual wield shortswords
weapon 2 --"------"------"-------

now I have a few things missing a nice devotion item, a potency item, a protection item
lots of AC!

Does anyone out there have ideas on what loot I should be running for to better equip this toon, as she is alot of fun to play, just seems a tad squishy also what spells are a must for this build? I currently take healing spells and self buffs where possible and blade barrier to put my spell focus Evocation to good use, other than that it is toughness and two weapon fighting line. Never really struggle to hit things with spells or swords, damage isn't off the charts but it is acceptable I have 1424 sp which could be higher I suppose, but I can keep a party alive if I need to.

Now the capstone apart from being +2 charisma is pretty poor for a Drow FvS I mean I can get invisibility off the wizard next to me or a pot so not to bothered about it. Would I sacrifice too much fvs goodness to grab them two monk levels, I could fit in power attack, have evasion and my wis mod (+6) to my AC which seems nice, but I don't see my spells till later on, and I am feeling the lack of group heals whilst healing at the moment. (though group heals are all I seem to be missing)

i'm not great at building characters, as the more experienced ones of you may be able to see, but any help is appreciated

[Uska]

I dont think the monk lvls will help you get your ac high enough to matter in end game you need at least a 70 ac then and even with that you will get smacked around alot. I would stay pure but thats just me I prefer pure classes anymore.

[settoloki]

I dont think the monk lvls will help you get your ac high enough to matter in end game you need at least a 70 ac then and even with that you will get smacked around alot. I would stay pure but thats just me I prefer pure classes anymore.

what about the power attack and evasion feats it would let me take extra?

[vrobel]

you dont need ac.

[Rusty_Can]

my current set up is

Level 13

Str 24
Dex 24
Con 18
Int 12
Wis 23
Cha 24

Imo, your abilities are all over the place; I don't like min-maxed characters, but I think yours is lacking focus. What's your target: offensive casting, healing or melee? Which ability have you been raising with your level-up points?

my ac is only 23 unbuffed which makes me failry squishy in game.

Monk splash (2 feats, Evasion, Wis bonus to AC) is an option, but I don't think it would be enough to make your AC effective.

what spells are a must for this build? I currently take healing spells and self buffs where possible and blade barrier to put my spell focus Evocation to good use, other than that it is toughness and two weapon fighting line.

Which metamagic feats did you take, if any? Your healing and offensive casting capabilities might benefit from Empower, Maximize and Quicken.

As for spells, it depends on what you are trying to achieve (i.e. "insta-kill", nuking, crowd control, buffing, healing, etc.).

[Uska]

what about the power attack and evasion feats it would let me take extra?

powerattck meh and will you get your reflex save high enough for it to work? I dont play fvs much so dont know them well

[Brennie]

Its an unfortunate fact that usable AC is usually unobtainable except to very specific builds who farm very specific loot. At low levels, just about everyone can get an AC that makes you nigh-unhittable. Slowly that turns into getitn gmissed occasionally... and with AC in the 20s by level 13, you've been entirely outpaced by enemy to hit.

So theres good news and there's bad news. The bad news is its time to give up on AC. Without SERIOUS investment, you AC won't matter, and even when it does, it will matter less and less the more you level up.

The GOOD news is - Most people give up on AC right around your level to! And yet, they all still survive! DDO offers a lot of options to keep yourself up and running - Concealment (blur), elemental resists, DR, temporary hitpoints, stoneskin, immunities, and of course bladebarrier kiting! And taking the burden of AC away means you can slot for more useful effects, instead of filling up all yrou gear slots with AC based modifiers!

[Ertay]

As most people before me said, get rid of all that ac stiff, sooner or later monsters will hit you on a 2 unless you invest heavily anyway.

Now that you've done that, you should question how you primarily want to deal damage and stick with that, and with a fvs thats probably going to be blade barrier all the way. If you decide to do so, by all means, get some kind of a potency VI item. This is probably where your equipment is most lacking currently, if you don't use metamagics (I'd get at least empower + enhancements for now) you are dealing sub par damage with your blade barrier already and potency will boost it by a flat 50%! For free!

With my new fvs, I tried to got my equipment setup like this:

Weapon Staff of the Master Transmuter - the only source of sup potency VI at lvl12, since you might be nearer to 14 now, you might as well get something from the ah
Head Teraza's Sight - nice for being able to farm it on any toon and can be upgraded to +6 later
Neck Shaman's beads - would go with an Anathema, but thats way harder to come by
Goggles Attack Bonus +1 - probably least important slot till you get greensteel con opp
Body Crimson Chain - again, ac won't matter anyway and fort can be gotten otherwise, I liked the crimson chain for the occasional speed boost while bb kiting
Bracers Scorched Bracers - for Abishai set
boots Boots of Corrosion - again, Abishai set
gloves - Charged Gauntlets - again, you guessed it, for completing the set
ring 1 - highest +con you can get
ring 2 - whatever you want
belt Heavy Fort
cloak Mantle of the Worldshaper - always get either that or voice of the master on any toon, all the way to 20
trinket Power X, could stay, I like the Bloodrage symbiont for getting rid of poison, disease and dr -/5, you could even swap the pearl for this if you don't mind the hassle

[DeathsApprentice]

Since you already have Teraza's Sight, have you considered farming for the rest of the Sora Kell set? There are gloves that give +5 Strength and a necklace(?) that gives +5 Charisma. The set bonus is +2 damage and 40% potency 6. And all 3 items can be upgraded to +6 with marks. All in all not bad.

You might also want to consider vampiric fury shortswords. These heal you for a couple of points every time you hit.
All of the above can be found in the Attack on Stormreach quests.

And I second the power attack suggestion: If you plan on hitting things, you need to have power attack. Don't worry about the to-hit-penalty, just cast Divine Power and hack and slash all you like.

[krackythehoodedone]

A half decent AC can be a great help up until the highest level. 70 ish AC will really help keep you safe.

As soon as you touch Epic content AC is irrelevant.

However AC is not a huge consideration . If your build lends naturaly towards a high AC without you having to do or more importantly sacrifice much, all good.

Otherwise forget about it completely. This can be quite liberating because you can put some extra goodies in slots you were thinking of putting AC stuff in

[Noctus]

Hint:

When presenting a build/char, please give base stats. Tedious to calculate out the items you are wearing.

[voodoogroves]

As others have said, I can't tell if you're melee or caster focused. What feats do you have?

Anyway, soemthing to consider while leveling without green steel / shroud gear.

Head Teraza's Sight - +5 WIS, set bonus
Neck - Shaman's Beads works
Goggles Attack Bonus +1 - use as a swap spot
Body - something with DR - see below
Bracers - Snag yourself some bracers of the hunter or steady handed armbands - cheap and easy
boots - swap spot - I like to use boots of the mire, striders, feather falling, clickies
gloves - Maenya's Fists +5 STR, set bonus
ring 1 - Katra's Wit +5 CHA, set bonus
ring 2 - Heavy Fort or CON
belt - Heavy Fort or CON
cloak Mantle of the Worldshaper - always get either that or voice of the master on any toon, all the way to 20
trinket - Swap between Power 10, Greater Bold Trinket; if you don't have DR on the armor then get a Symbiont here

The set bonus from Lordsmarch gives you +2 to hit, +2 to damage and Greater Potency 6 (40%)

Armor with DR that you may have on other toons
- Full Plate of the Ringleader
- Shining Adamantine Plate
- Gleaming Adamantine Plate
- Fullplate of the Giants

Alternatively, you could use Gorgon Plate and get CON on your armor as well, freeing up a ring utility spot.

If you have the Relics though, I'd suggest Elfcrafted Plate/Robes/Whatever or similar from GH turn-ins. That's evocation focus and arcane lore. Then definnitely get DR (Blood Rage, Kaelths) on the Trinket.


Weapons - Hard to argue w/ Vampiric Fury Shortswords. Also keep a few Sup Ardor VI clickies to swap in as needed.