Samurai Build Advice

[Erynthnuul]

can anyone suggest a good samurai build. Right now im using a Fighter/Monk. I just think there could be a better combination. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

[joueur]

what's a 'samurai build'?

lawful neutral fighter?

[dmoney2021]

Samurai = LN Paladin????

[Erynthnuul]

no, as in wot classes in ddo would seem similar when combined to the actual pen and paper D&D Samurai class.

[Cold_Stele]

Honestly, the best way is just Ftr 20 and take Kensai III.

You could take THF greatsword (no-dachi or single katana) or TWF. If you're a real purist and want TWF you'll end up with long sword/bast sword instead of khopesh but prepared to be disappointed.

If you do want Monk look at the Solar Pheonix type builds - they'll make the most of going down the long sword TWF line at least.

[Sirslapemsack]

2 monk/6 pally/12 fighter


Lawful, Nice AC, Lots of hp, great saves, can hold aggro over anything i.e. devine rit on 6 lvls of pally. Get low grade smites which are similair to samurai shout ability and some ki abilities if you choose to use longswords and stay centered. you can get devine might 1 and devine sacrifice 1 on top of kensai 2 with full haste boost, power surge etc. Just a suggestion, ill leave the gear and such up to you.

[Jahmin]

Ultimately it depends upon how much Role-play you want to include. By PnP, Samurai get TWF for free when using their Daisho (paired Katana & Wakizashi), hence Ranger lvls. Kiai is probably closest to Barbarian Rage, but this generally precludes Paladin & Monk. Paladin is the closest base class, but would be feat-limited which would suggest Fighter. Monk is certainly doable as well. So here are a couple of options:

Ftr12/Pal6 (Monk/Rgr/Rog) [THF]
Ftr12/Rng6 (Pal/Monk/Barb/Rog) [TWF]
Pal14/Rng6
Pal14/Ftr6

[sacredguyver]

Also: Katanas are simply masterwork Bastard Swords. Gonna take a feat for them?

Some type of Paladin/Fighter hybrid would be good. I don't see the point in throwing Monk into the build. If going Fighter 12/Paladin 6/??? 2, I'd suggest Rogue for Evasion (same as Monk) and plenty of skill points.

Full TWF line should be easy to get, with Kensei 2 and Knight of the Chalice 1, though it may be a bit tight on APs (most of the pre-reqs for both PREs are Enhancement based).

[unbongwah]

Depends - do you want to recreate historical samurai or the 3.5E samurai class? There are lots of ways of attempting to capture both.

[unbongwah]

Here's my take on a samurai build - it's basically just a Monster build with some gimpy tweaks in the name of flavor - and the rationale behind my choices:

• Human for the extra feat & healing amp - and of course because there were no non-human samurai in the real world. But it would work with any race, really, though you'll need to drop a feat.
• Ranger 6 for all the feats, inc. archery; samurai were expected to be good with a bow as well as their blades. [With a bit of rejiggering of stats & feats, one could squeeze in Prec Shot & IPS.] Tempest I doesn't add nearly as much DPS as it used to, but it does add some and I need the D/M/SA feat chain for Whirlwind later (say wut? read on...).
• Monk 2 for extra feats, Evasion, and WIS AC bonus. I'm going for the pajama-fighter route, although light armor also works if you don't care about AC (in which case you could dump-stat WIS for, say, more CON) and some of them sorta resemble o-yoroi.
• Fighter 12 for the feats & DPS from Kensai II; it also fits into the Ancestral Weapon concept of D&D samurai. I went khopesh for max DPS and as curvy blades they kinda-sorta resemble katanas (even though their stats in D&D are identical to bastard swords, there's only so far I'm willing to gimp this build ). One could also take Whirling Steel Strike instead of (or in addition to) khopesh, so you could use longswords while being centered; lose DPS in the name of flavor, basically.
• Feats for flavor: D&D samurai get Whirlwind Attack and Horde Breaker (Cleave is the closest to it in DDO), so I added both as well as Great Cleave. [Samurai get them much earlier, but I didn't want to delay Kensai I.] Since WA requires Combat Expertise, I added Imp Trip and Stunning Blow for good measure, to give this build more of a tactics flavor.

And so without further ado:

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.9.1
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 20 Lawful Neutral Human Female
(12 Fighter \ 2 Monk \ 6 Ranger) 
Hit Points: 341
Spell Points: 80 
BAB: 19\19\24\29\29
Fortitude: 19
Reflex: 16
Will: 11

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(32 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             16                    26
Dexterity            15                    18
Constitution         14                    16
Intelligence         12                    14
Wisdom               12                    14
Charisma              8                    10

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 (Ranger)
Feat: (Human Bonus) Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Khopesh
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Undead
Feat: (Selected) Toughness


Level 2 (Ranger)


Level 3 (Monk)
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Dodge
Feat: (Selected) Stunning Blow


Level 4 (Monk)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Monk 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


Level 9 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack


Level 10 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons


Level 11 (Fighter)


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


Level 13 (Fighter)


Level 14 (Fighter)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Cleave


Level 15 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selected) Combat Expertise


Level 16 (Fighter)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Whirlwind Attack


Level 17 (Fighter)


Level 18 (Fighter)
Feat: (Selected) Great Cleave
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Improved Trip


Level 19 (Fighter)


Level 20 (Fighter)
Ability Raise: STR
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Greater Weapon Specialization: Slashing Weapons
Enhancement: Fighter Attack Boost I
Enhancement: Fighter Attack Boost II
Enhancement: Fighter Extra Action Boost I
Enhancement: Fighter Haste Boost I
Enhancement: Fighter Haste Boost II
Enhancement: Fighter Haste Boost III
Enhancement: Fighter Haste Boost IV
Enhancement: Kensei Khopesh Mastery I
Enhancement: Kensei Khopesh Mastery II
Enhancement: Fighter Critical Accuracy I
Enhancement: Fighter Critical Accuracy II
Enhancement: Fighter Kensei I
Enhancement: Fighter Kensei II
Enhancement: Fighter Strategy (Stunning Blow) I
Enhancement: Fighter Strategy (Stunning Blow) II
Enhancement: Fighter Strategy (Stunning Blow) III
Enhancement: Fighter Strategy (Trip) I
Enhancement: Fighter Strategy (Trip) II
Enhancement: Fighter Strategy (Trip) III
Enhancement: Fighter Khopesh Specialization I
Enhancement: Human Adaptability Strength I
Enhancement: Human Improved Recovery I
Enhancement: Human Improved Recovery II
Enhancement: Human Improved Recovery III
Enhancement: Way of the Patient Tortoise I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Attack I
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Damage I
Enhancement: Ranger Favored Damage II
Enhancement: Ranger Tempest I
Enhancement: Ranger Dexterity I
Enhancement: Fighter Strength I
Enhancement: Fighter Strength II
Enhancement: Fighter Toughness I
Enhancement: Fighter Toughness II
Enhancement: Fighter Toughness III

[Munesai]

This is a Samurai Build.
http://my.ddo.com/character/sarlona/munesai/