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  1. #1
    Community Member Zachski's Avatar
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    Default "First" Time Fighter

    I say "first" because I've never given a Fighter a serious roll.

    This class has always intimidated me. Sooo many feats. So many directions to go. So many things to do.

    So many options that have left me sitting in the dirt with birds spinning around my head chirping.

    Kinda strange, especially with how Barbarian is so feat-tight... but at the same time, it makes things make sense since there's less options, and so less confusion.

    So, what kind of pure build (can be THF or TWF or even S&B, whichever is more newbie-friendly) would these forums recommend for someone who's wanting to see just what Fighter is all about?
    Last edited by Zachski; 12-21-2011 at 04:01 AM.
    The guy who likes to experience every class. Except Fighter >:[ I don't like you Fighter.
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  2. #2
    The Hatchery zwiebelring's Avatar
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    THF Kensai with Sap, Stunning Blow and Improved Sunder.

    Aims:
    - maximum possible STR

    - maximum possible CON

    - INT at least 10

    THF leaves you with just one weapon to focus on and less stat sacrifices. Dwarf is a common race for this. Swing a Greataxe even if it might be less optimal compared to other weapons.
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  3. #3
    Community Member stille_nacht's Avatar
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    i recommend TWF, it gets significatly better DPS for fighters, you can definitely still use sap, stunning blow, and improved sunder...

    15 dex (17 if you cannot afford a tome)
    14 con min
    highest str possible

    just make sure you pick up all the twf feats, PA, toughness, etc. If you dont really know what to do with feats just sink em into more toughnesses :P
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  4. #4
    The Hatchery zwiebelring's Avatar
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    Cannot recommend TWF according to ''newbie friendly''.

    If you do not bother about equipment go TWF otherwise, for the sake of getting known tactical options, choose easiest way and go THF.

    Maybe some other orientation:
    PB 28 THF or TWF (but then no Dwarf maybe Half Elf or Human (gives you additional Option on Toughness feat for compensating less hp than Dwarf)

    PB 32 THF or TWF according to gathered items

    PB 32+ just max. out STR (somehow) for Stunning Blow and Improved Sunder
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  5. #5
    Community Member Zachski's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by zwiebelring View Post
    THF Kensai with Sap, Stunning Blow and Improved Sunder.

    Aims:
    - maximum possible STR

    - maximum possible CON

    - INT at least 10

    THF leaves you with just one weapon to focus on and less stat sacrifices. Dwarf is a common race for this. Swing a Greataxe even if it might be less optimal compared to other weapons.
    So... a Greataxe Kensai?

    That might be interesting.

    Out of curiosity, why 10 int? What skills would you suggest? :V
    The guy who likes to experience every class. Except Fighter >:[ I don't like you Fighter.
    Hey Devs! Let's give Warpriests and Eldritch Knights some loving, kay? :<

  6. #6
    The Hatchery zwiebelring's Avatar
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    So... a Greataxe Kensai?
    Well Greataxe only if you decide Dwarven race since this will give you the racial weapon enhancement line. Otherwise choose the weapon(-s) according to the chosen race. If there is no racial weapon you really might want to go TWF + Kopesh since it is the overall best TWF weapon and highest melee dps (that is what many here suggest).

    Exceptions are high end grind fests or epic versions of other weaponry where you could swap feats accordingly after achieveing the gear.

    But that again is nothing to test out it is more serious planning I think.

    General overall THF weapon (without racial weapon enhancements) as far as I can read here:
    Greensteel Falchion
    Epic Xuum
    Epic Sword of Shadows (the all out no brainer)

    With Greataxe Kensai most probably:
    Epic Antique Greataxe

    Out of curiosity, why 10 int? What skills would you suggest? :V
    Intimidate, some ranks in Jump (4 at lvl. 1 with INT 10) and Balance. With a little multiclassing and base INT 14 you could increase the number of useful skills in a notable way. But when it should be a pure Ftr I think you should have at least Balance and Intimidate. Balance will let you stand up faster after being knocked down. Intimidate while not useful as main tank is nice for situational aggro control on trash mobs.

    There are people here who have more experience in loot setup and specialization for a Kensai or pure Ftr in general. If you can afford the gear for TWF, do as stille_nacht suggests. If you really want to have a look on options of a Ftr I think THF combined with tactical feats is the easiest way.
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  7. #7
    Community Member Postumus's Avatar
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    I agree with zwiebelring's advice wholeheartedly.

    I think the simplest way to get a feel for the fighter class is to go with a two-handed kensai build, probably a half-orc, where you max str, con, and spread the rest around int/dex/wis so you have a few skill points to put into skills like balance, jump (up to 10ish), and intimidate.

    My first FTR was a half-orc thf Kensai who used mauls and had great stun and trip skills (back when stun gave you auto-crit). I had no special gear, I took one toughness feat, took all the fighter and HO toughness enhancements, all the HO THF enhancements, and had no problems soloing, duoing, or pugging until Amrath.

    Amrath was much harder for me without a group. With a group I did fine.

    If you are building for Epics, then you might not want to go this way, but if you want a thorough test drive of the class that is a lot of fun 1-20, then something like what I or zwiebelring suggest is a good way to go.

    Dwarf would be another good race to try because of the bonuses to tactical feats and extra toughness if you think you need it.

  8. #8
    Community Member Zachski's Avatar
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    Would half-orc be a better choice than dwarf?
    The guy who likes to experience every class. Except Fighter >:[ I don't like you Fighter.
    Hey Devs! Let's give Warpriests and Eldritch Knights some loving, kay? :<

  9. #9
    The Hatchery zwiebelring's Avatar
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    Half-Orc has more dmg. but does not have enhancements for tactical feats. Its a very front loaded race. Dwarf is resilient and has tactical enhancements.

    A Half Orc has STR enhancement line + Power Attack line but less hp and resilience.

    Dwarf
    http://ddowiki.com/page/Dwarf_enhancements

    Half Orc
    http://ddowiki.com/page/Half-Orc_enhancements

    My personal favorite is Dwarf just because they have more hp and do not run like having a stick shoved up their butt. Dwarf has +3 to tactical DCs (3x Dwarven Tactics enhancements), Half Orc +2 (base STR +2 and 2 STR enhancements).
    Last edited by zwiebelring; 12-22-2011 at 03:30 AM.
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  10. #10
    Community Member Jaid314's Avatar
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    minor note, +4 to strength (possible for a half-orc) over other races is equivalent to +2 to tactics for fighters at least (not the case for, say, monks, however).

    so while half-orc may not get any boosts to tactics directly, they do still get almost as much as a WF or dwarf would get.

  11. #11
    Community Member goodspeed's Avatar
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    I thought fighter usually went the stel pre with the changes now. Anyway depends on what you wanna do. Wanna build for ac? Want to build for pure dmg? Want to build for tanking? Some of the shields are really nice now. Could sword and board it.

    Fighter can be just about anything. All depends on what ya wanna do with em. Most I see are tanking with em. A chimera in 1 hand, a badass shield in the other. Hp through the roof. (Don't neglect the other feats. much like a barb you will drop like a rock even with 800 hp. Don't just take 8 toughness's like those people that die first in elite quests)
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  12. #12
    Community Member Zachski's Avatar
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    Okay, um... I'm still kinda iffy about playing a fighter

    While the many feats seem like an obvious advantage... I just find myself wondering "Why play a fighter when I can play the more interesting Paladin, or the more physically-focused Barbarian?"

    Bleh. Sorry guys. I'll still hold onto all of this advice.
    The guy who likes to experience every class. Except Fighter >:[ I don't like you Fighter.
    Hey Devs! Let's give Warpriests and Eldritch Knights some loving, kay? :<

  13. #13
    Community Member goodspeed's Avatar
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    Mainly cause a barb doesn't get a whole lot feat wise. They're basically a charge in and beat the hell out of everything class. Only problem with that is survival rate isn't the highest.

    Paladin is...kind of an acquired taste. Some like em, others like a TR I met while grinding out GH favor hates his with a passion and wants to get the life over with. A fighter is kind of like a blank template. It doesn't give the stuff the other 2 do, it sets it up feat wise for you to choose. Kind of like an advanced customize at character creation.

    Of course you don't have to stay pure ya know. Theirs plenty of great slashes that have a fighter a the main lv.
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  14. #14
    Hero nibel's Avatar
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    Myself, I think a Stalwart, pos-U11, is better than a Kensai for first timers. The extra HP is great, the damage mitigation give a different feel from the barbarian the OP uses, and the change in playstyle helps to give identity to each class.

    Go dwarf, get a good daxe and gaxe, and go to town. If your AC is useful, get the daxe + shield and enjoy being missed A LOT (and even if they hit, the damage is neligible). If not (enemy casters, or high level quests with few equips), put the big axe out. Keep trip, sunder and stunning blow up all the time, and hit intimidade if necessary.

    Myself, I always found out barbarians are out of my league. I just can't play a class that have "lose the utility of your clickies to hit harder" as their main gimmick.
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    I want DDO to be a better game. Those are my personal suggestions on: Ammunition, Archmage, Combat Stances, Deities, Dispel Magic, Epic Destiny Map, Fast Healing, Favor, Favored Enemy, Half-elf Enhancements, Monk Kensai, Monk Stances, Past Life, Potency, Potions, Ranger Spells, Summons, Tiered Loot.

  15. #15
    Community Member Emili's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by zwiebelring View Post
    My personal favorite is Dwarf just because they have more hp and do not run like having a stick shoved up their butt. Dwarf has +3 to tactical DCs (3x Dwarven Tactics enhancements), Half Orc +2 (base STR +2 and 2 STR enhancements).

    +4 str is +2 tactical DC when speaking fighter. The tactic DC is based on str mod.

    Quote Originally Posted by nibel View Post
    Myself, I think a Stalwart, pos-U11, is better than a Kensai for first timers. The extra HP is great, the damage mitigation give a different feel from the barbarian the OP uses, and the change in playstyle helps to give identity to each class.
    Depends... it's not exactly the SD out there landing improved sunder constantly on eLoB - it's the Kensei's with thier high tactical DCs. DS is a great build but I feels requires much more gearing and attention of details.

    Tactical melee is fun... is a push button affair. Thus tossing in interesting turn in play. Two most important are "Improved Sunder" and "Stunning Blow". Unfortunately trip and "Improved Trip" lose thier luster in the very high end game... While can still Improve Trip orthons in Elite ToD in epics it loses ground as a good tactic rather quickly (even though you can always have a +4 higher trip dc than Stun dc).

    DS as I said is a bloody hell of a lot trickier build to get right... you need to garner hate, intimidate and grab as mich dps as you can to help emphasis those... intimidate alone get you nowhere fast. Ample DR is generally easier to attain than AC in end game level but quite the opposite comming the way up. I think many people should build more tanks but at the same time takes a lot more dedication to it.

    Oh, and to the author of the OP... the feat space may seem overwhelming ... but it's not really - fact is on my fighter I wish I had more feat space and she's a TR'd human.


    Last edited by Emili; 12-26-2011 at 04:12 AM.
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  16. #16
    The Hatchery sirgog's Avatar
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    What degree of equipment access do you have?

    If you have the resources to make a Greensteel weapon and accessory as soon as you have the Power Shards, and can put together a 3pc eAbashai set and Epic Claw Gloves, then I'd have different recommendations to someone without much in the way of twink gear.

  17. #17
    Hero nibel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Emili View Post

    Depends... it's not exactly the SD out there landing improved sunder constantly on eLoB - it's the Kensei's with thier high tactical DCs. DS is a great build but I feels requires much more gearing and attention of details.

    Tactical melee is fun... is a push button affair. Thus tossing in interesting turn in play. Two most important are "Improved Sunder" and "Stunning Blow". Unfortunately trip and "Improved Trip" lose thier luster in the very high end game... While can still Improve Trip orthons in Elite ToD in epics it loses ground as a good tactic rather quickly (even though you can always have a +4 higher trip dc than Stun dc).

    DS as I said is a bloody hell of a lot trickier build to get right... you need to garner hate, intimidate and grab as mich dps as you can to help emphasis those... intimidate alone get you nowhere fast. Ample DR is generally easier to attain than AC in end game level but quite the opposite comming the way up. I think many people should build more tanks but at the same time takes a lot more dedication to it.
    Agree. But I was talking more about the leveling game than endgame. Kensai takes some time to "grow up" (specially if they are TWF, because of feat taxes), but all a SD needs to be awesome is a +5 shield and armor. Until they hit Cannith/Amrath.
    Amossa d'Cannith, Sarlona, casually trying Completionist (12/14) [<o>]
    Almost-never-played-alts: Arquera - Chapolin - Fabber - Herweg - Mecanico - Tenma


    I want DDO to be a better game. Those are my personal suggestions on: Ammunition, Archmage, Combat Stances, Deities, Dispel Magic, Epic Destiny Map, Fast Healing, Favor, Favored Enemy, Half-elf Enhancements, Monk Kensai, Monk Stances, Past Life, Potency, Potions, Ranger Spells, Summons, Tiered Loot.

  18. #18
    The Hatchery zwiebelring's Avatar
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    +4 str is +2 tactical DC when speaking fighter. The tactic DC is based on str mod.
    And that is exactly what I wrote....
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