Is gear part of a character build?

[Scraap]

For any build I'd play for more than the morbid curiosity at least, it depends on if it's
A: reliable to get
B: compensating for shaving off a point or two in one aspect to get measurable benefits in another

[Airgeadlam]

Definitely. Gear is more important than feats and base stats. A simple hand wavey comparison: a toon with ideal feats and stat distribution, but only starter gear and korthos gear versus a toon with base strength and no combat feats but with eSOS, eClaw, ravager set, eMarilith etc. Who wins?

Using extremes as example seems not the best option to make a point. Very unlikely that the well built toon reaches 20 without anything better than Korthos gear, and yet more unlikely (only a TR comes to mind) that the total-wreck toon acquires all the bonnie stuff.

Yes. Consider the difference between a melee with 10 minutes worth of displacement clickies for damage mitigation and one that has only his movement speed and a loincloth.

If you mean two toons exactly the same, but one with the clickies and one who has not, maybe. As in previous example, a total-wreck with 10 clickies is better than a total-wreck without them, but in the end would be worse than a well built and average geared toon without the clickies (assuming both players know what they do).

Sometimes.

If healing amp is a big part of your build (solar phoenix, etc), then healing amp gear would be appropriate to list as part of the build.

If you're just including dual-weilded eSoS so that you can make it look like you have real DPS on a garbage build, then it's not appropriate.

This, the middle grounds. Some builds NEED certain gear to be good. With those builds, no gear = no effectiveness. Some builds can get better with certain gear (improving their dps, or selfhealing, or AC, whatever), but are good even without it.

What I do is plan the build to be efficient with gear I already have (unbound or bta if new toon, btc as well if TR) and then aim to improve them. So the gear I could list is the optimal one. The build would work in my case even without that gear.

Extreme build should include the gear as part of the build, because you can't work with them unless you have it. For regular buils you can list it as "nice to have", not as "part" of the build itself. Just my opinion though.

[Feralthyrtiaq]

Depends on your goals...

Have Epic Gear already? More than likely.

Gonna farm for Epic Gear? Still likely.

New to DDO + Familiar with D&D? Highly Unlikely.

Have a first life barbarian with tons of GS items and weapons TRing into a Wizard? Highly Likely.

New to DDO + Unfamiliar with D&D + Played MMOs previous? Less likely but more apt to be at least considered considered.

I have chosen to play a certain class/build because of gear I have gotten before. It is considered in as much as I know what I have, how it works and when to use it.

I would NOT play a Max INT Rogue to Cap JUST because I have a EMG for instance.

[destiny4405]

yes. it affects your starting stats, skills you train, enhancements you select and feats you get.

[noinfo]

Define 'win'

Holy silver falchion and I go kill this mob here

My eSoS friend kills him faster but at the end of the day both accomplished what was required ie mob is dead.

I guess I am not extremist in gearing. Yes an eSOS would be awesome. But in the meantime I will be able to at least be effective with my crafted stuff. Please don't call me a loser if I don't have an eSOS yet in other words...

But that is still gear.

I am of the opinion that gear can play as much part of a toons end game design as feats and stat distribution for the most optimal build. That is not to say that alternate acceptable gear cannot be substituted but my toons don't get to end game and then say to myself ok what stuff am I going to put on them, I usually know what sort of stuff I want for it and what I can use in the mean time. Alternate gear does not make your toon gimp, not thinking about it at all can though. EG that holy silver falchion would be fine in hard or elite TOD but if someone had only holy and not silver it starts to make a difference. A little thought and planning goes a long way.

[Merlin-ator]

Good gear will be a necessity for about 4 more days, then it will become much less important.

[Enoach]

There are two ways to build a character

1. Around a piece of Gear, such as a Specific Weapon (Greatsword, Khopesh, or Handwraps). The decision on the preference will effect how you build. Example, if building your character around an eSoS you will most likely not take TWF feats but instead utilize THF feats.

This style of building is usually done around equipment already obtained. However, there are those that build towards this type with the plan to Farm the equipment until either they get it, or become fatigued from trying


2. Gear Independent - Have weapon will travel. Here the goal is to focus on stats, enhancements, feats and gear that enhance the character. Character is not tied to a specific item(s) as they will switch out to what is needed to make them stronger for the situation at hand.


Neither, is a terrible way to build. The risk of building around a specific item comes with the addition of new items that become flavor of the week. However, it could also put you in a good place as well. Example: Building towards an eSoS, when the change to Smiting/Banishing and upgrade to Terror occurred, placed many of these Greatsword users in a good position to get the most out of Terror as its PK effect had more chances to proc over the Smite/Banish.

[Kawai]

"GEAR IS NOT A DUMP.... thingy..."
Uhm... back to your thread.

[slimkj]

Discuss.

It is an inevitable part of a character, but not of a build, imo. You could build round gear but that's usually a mistake that leads to disappointment.

[wax_on_wax_off]

It is an inevitable part of a character, but not of a build, imo. You could build round gear but that's usually a mistake that leads to disappointment.

I don't know, I tend to think that:
- tanky palemasters who built around Boon of Undeath effect are pretty happy
- off melee builds building around eSoS builds are pretty happy
- tanky WF building around DoD are pretty happy

Nope, no disappointment here.

[captain1z]

Gear is absolutely part of build.

Many feats are devoted to your gear.

Tower shield mastery
Armor mastery
Weapon finesse
Exotic weapons

And in the end, if your rangers wisdom was used as a dump stat (build decision) u need a +6 wis item to cast high level spells. Gear enhances our feats (stunning item enhances stunning blow feat) and our feats enhance our gear (improvered critical strike piercing on a wounding of puncturing rapier).

Its like one hand washing the other and something every decent character builder takes into account, all the way out through cap.

[Forzah]

Sometimes you build a character around a certain item, so yes! For instance int-based rogues with epic midnight greetings.

[DoctorWhofan]

Here's my spin...

There are very few quests in this game that require you to have a certian piece of gear. THose that do, generally are easy to get via drops, crafting or AH. THere is gear you SHOULD have, such as +6 Stat stuff, but that easy to get via drops/AH/crafting. None of the particular gear you hear about, such as the Chattering Ring etc., are NECCESARY TO PLAY THE GAME. THey are nice to have, but you can still play thegame without it. Lots of people do all the time and function well.

I think theexception could be made for greensteel. At level 20 and you have the Vale of Twilight pack, you should have at least one peice of Greensteel on you. Too easy to get, really. Maybe anything in Reaver's Fate/Gianthold, if they havethe pack.

Great gear is nice to have...BUT NOT NEEDED. You can play the game without it. To base a character around an item tends to limit yourself and the caharcter's potential and flexiblity.

I tell people not to stress out on the gear. It will come to them.

[maha0201]

Sometimes you build a character around a certain item, so yes! For instance int-based rogues with epic midnight greetings.

Cha based bards go eEdge and eFalcatas

OT:

Gear is in most cases nice to have but if you are going to fill one of tricky roles you will need gear to pull things off. I doubt that 1st lifer who just leveled up via stone is able to good tank ELoB ( well maybe if person who leveled it had all epic items ready to craft just he needed bases... but again that kind of person wouldn't use stone on 1st lifer... ), nor i am to keen to see casters kite / tank shadows in tower without adsorption item( cannith ) / gs / ring.

And again there is a lot of difference between playing non geared rog in raid and non geared bbn. Bbn will have around 700 hp raged while rog will stand at 400-450 hp ( hard to break 500 hp without exceptional and GS )

To sum up my brainstorming, Gear doesn't make build. But some builds and classes are easier to play if you have gear than if you don't have.

[DarkForte]

Gear is part of your build. Real life example I experienced: 2 WF FvS (mine and one of my guildmates'). Mine has some threat gear, more healing amp gear and wears more dps-oriented gear (FB set, using fabricator's set as a placeholder for eClaw). His has no threat gear, and he has a lot of SP and HP gear (QFDB, LGA, cunning trinket, + cha SP item, etc). His toon lasts much longer on SPs, mine, on many a ocasion, plays main tank due to high threat + heal amp + higher DPS.

Same builds with 2 wildly differing gearsets (only piece of gear we have in common is concopp goggles and a lit II) normally imply wildly different goals.

[alexp80]

Definetly.

Gear (and tomes) is something you have to plan at the very start when using stat point (to avoid odd numbers at the end), to choose which feats/enhancement you should take, and so on.

[svinja]

I generally don't bother to plan for gear (especially for evening out stats with tomes and gear) because I can just LR if I really want to make the gear "fit perfectly".

[Truga]

No. Everyone gets access to the same gear (given enough grind). Build is what makes or breaks the character. Unless you mean things like taking khopesh feat. Then yes.

[Stillwaters]

NO
The two entities are seperate
"Build" is the players design on how his toon will operate
"Gear" is something seperate, that luck(or patience) defines getting in the first place

Build = player controlled
Gear = loot luck controlled

That being said Gear>Build anyday

Same designed builds, one with and one without the geared toon wins

Put it this way,
would you rather have a strong character design but with crud gear on your team, or a weak design with strong gear (GFL, Esos etc)??
Sure the strong toon will eventually be stronger again with strong gear, but my example shows the strength of good GEAR design.

Teamskill>Playerskill>Gear>Build so if you have to gimp SOMETHING i'd choose build, its the easiest to cover/fix up.

[destiny4405]

Great gear is nice to have...BUT NOT NEEDED. You can play the game without it. To base a character around an item tends to limit yourself and the caharcter's potential and flexiblity.

maybe i misunderstood OP, but the question was 'Is gear part of a character build?'. not 'Do you need best gear to finish a quest?'.

and it is a part of it. you won't have the same build for the toon that has litany and for one that doesn't.

if you have enough spell pen from items, you might skip a spell pen feat. if you have high enough HP from items, you might skip racial/class enhancements, or tougness feat.

see where i'm going with this?