Durable, self-reliant melee DPS?

[ThePage311]

I'm returning to DDO after a year or two long break. I TR'd my wizard and have been enjoying him while playing with friends. When my friends are not on, I think I'd like a chance to try melee... but I'd like something durable/self-reliant to help ease the pains of pugging (I'm not too into soloing, but do like doing slayer while I wait for a group).

My goals with this character is to focus on DPS, but give up just enough to be a tough nut to crack, without relying too heavily on party members.

The game has changed so much that I hardly know what I'm looking at any more! I have spent a couple hours on DDOwiki and surfing the forums. I don't mind cookie cutter builds, but it seems like the recent expansion means there aren't as many build discussions as people sort through their own characters before discussing them online.

I have a Meklor style "Lord of Blades" that I really enjoy, but I consider him a healer first, dps second. So the first thing that came to mind was a melee focused divine character so I could quicken+empower heal+heal spell, but give up some levels and take fighter for more DPS feats. Maybe 12 favored soul and 6 fighter... with the last two levels possilby paladin for some extra saves?
- Looked like good synergy with Elven scimitar user and undying court. Not sure if durable enough if dual weilding, or enough dps if using a shield.
- I've always liked dwaves for their great HP and saves and even have a few ok axes in the bank, but no FvS line that caters to axes. Not as great synergy as Elf with scimitar? And of course how to balance DPS and surviablility... greataxe vs dual-d.axes vs d.axe+shield?

Or am I completely missing another build that is simpler and more what I'm looking for? Maybe a monk?

Thank you in advance for any replies. I'm very eager to stop reading and start playing!

PS- if I did go dual weilding elf... would I take power attack? Precision? Neither?

[dmslasher]

you might enjoy the melee build i run then its a 15/pally/3monk/2fighter hunter of the dead human.

mine just happens to be a whirling steel strike build but that is optional wrap based is still just a good i went whirling steel stike because i was a longsword pally in a past life so i had quite a few in storage. its a high heal amp build as well allowing for the possibility for exceeding 400% heal amp with the proper gear.

the indepenance is very nice because i am my own healer in basic quests able to solo most anything without the need for a hireling healer. my own cure modarate for 8 sps heal me for upwards of 100 hps at lvl 18 till i get my full 400+% heal amp. also with the monk healing cure from being light monk i heal every time i hit gaining 3-6 per swing. and if coupled with lessor vampiric wraps or swords this can be as much as 6-9 per swing again at full heal amp this will be 8-12 per swing. all explorer areas are easily soloed with that amount of incoming health. as far as dps goes its still quite good with my long swords as i have divine favor and divine might. plus i put all lvling points into str. if you want more info on the build i will try and put up the full makeup of it.

[FrozenNova]

I would recommend monk.
I've done the paladin self healing build before. Way too much damage sacrifice to really justify itself as a pure dps build, and my attempt was typical dual khopeshes standard melee flavour.

[Kinerd]

Pure paladin for sure. Two of the best paladin DPS abilities (Divine Sacrifice and Smite Evil) don't play nice with handwraps, and longswords are poor weapons. You also don't have to wait forever to get your good stuff like you do with a deep splash.

Stats (32 point)
14 Str
15 Dex (+2 tome or +1 tome and a level-up here, or two level-ups and swap ITWF and Maximize)
14 Con
14 Wis
8 Int
12 Cha

Feats
Power Attack and Toughness
Two Weapon Fighting
Improved Two Weapon Fighting (note that before this point you're better off with a Two Handed Weapon)
Maximize
Greater Two Weapon Fighting
Improved Critical: Slashing
Whatever

Enhancements
Hunter of the Dead
Improved Recovery
Human Versatility
Divine Sacrifice

Gear
Scimitars
A Devotion ring
Heal amp armor (DT is the classic, but you can find it on random gen now too: aim for Heavy Armor if you possibly can)

.

Between your immunities, buffs, and heals, you will never have to rely on party members outside of raid circumstances.

[Kmnh]

What kind of content do you plan on running? You can solo most of the game on hard with a bit of DR and immunity gear/potions/clickies. DR 5/- is insane on a solo normal/hard run, but merely "good" on full parties or elite.

Same goes for elemental resists and the like.

[Taimasan]

I would recommend a balance based human or wis/str based h-orc monk.

[Lord_WC]

longswords are poor weapons

Try Oathblades maybe. They are actually good.

[Asmodeus451]

mark me down as also recommending a pure Paladin


the build above would be a good one, tho u could also go THF all the way and save 3 feats (as you can arguably skip the THF feats on a THF build)

Pros for THF:

easier to gear (only need 1 weapon for each situation instead of 2)
double benefit from Power attack
potential to save feats

Cons:

slight loss of DPS V TWF
some loss of versatility (TWF can use an offhand weapon to provide things like Tactical Feat DC increases, or utility effects like Paralyzing)

[yynderjohn]

Going to recommend a pure monk with half-elf cleric dilettante. Get all 3 enchancement ranks and you can cast heals scrolls at 95% success without a point in UMD. You can also cast 95% raise dead. If you go Shintao monk you lose some dps but get more heals. If you go Dark monk you get more dps and no inherent heals.

[azmodeus1]

max str, horc, FvS, dreadnaught.

toughness, max, emp, quicken, ic:s, pa, g.sword.

no tactics feats, but solid melee dps, and i guarantee it will survive longer than any other melee out there. the ability to energy drain orange names, and melee dps combined with divine punishment dot you'll be very close to top end dmg. you can also do a healbot role for raids, or keep swinging while spamming mass heals as required to keep your lesser melee allies alive.

[FuzzyDuck81]

If you like the dwarf idea I've got a dwarf 12fvs/6fighter/2monk (2 monk purely for 1 extra feat vs. 8 fighter levels since i stay in heavy armour so evasion doesnt work), AoV2 & stalwart 1, using dwarf axe & shield with 2hf, i2hf, toughness, empower healing, empower, quicken, shield mastery, PA, cleave, great cleave & weapon focus.. at level 21 qualifies for overwhelming crit (since its not working atm i took g2hf & will take OC at 24th).

He has a good blend of dps capability & survivability through Heal & some handy buffs, can supplement dps vs. bosses & other high-hp enemies by using divine punishment, currently working through the exalted angel line on him though unyielding sentinel would be a great one for even more durability to the point you could probably be decently effective in a tanking role, or legendary dreadnaught for offensive power - OC, devastating crit & headsmans chop would be some pretty nasty criticals, plus those nice momentum swing & lay waste etc to cycle in with cleave/great cleave & the glancing blows from DAs mean handy AoE dps.

The pure monk with cleric dilly is another i'd heartily endorse, mine is an absolute blast to play, especially since respeccing to wisdom focussed (just waiting on vorpal strikes to be fixed!) & even more so now i've maxed the gardener destiny.

[Loromir]

I just LR'd my pure cleric to 19/1 Cleric Fighter. Battle Cleric is an bad word in some peoples vocabulary, but I am loving it.

I had only run my Pure Cleric a couple of time the past few months and only when the guild needed a healer in a raid. I just got bored with being a Nanny Bot. I liked my other Melee toons much better, but was tired of drinking pots for healing and relying on others for buffs.

So, I dusted of my cleric and paid a visit to House J for and +1LR. My DPS is still a bit behind my Fighters and Barb, but man can she take a pounding. My Aura clicks at 28HP (Non Crit), I can cure poisons, diseases, curses, and the plethora of other effects the mobs can throw at me. I can buff my AC and saves to really nice levels and pull out a shield for even more AC. I can drop the shield and smash with a 2 hander. And all of this and I never get anywhere close to death.

Now, my offensive and CC spell are only average at best, but they do add a little bit extra damage in addition to my melee.

At this point, I'm not afraid to go in solo in some quests that I would have never considered before. It might take me a little bit longer to kill that Mob than a Barb, but I'm still standing fresh as a daisy after the fight is over.

A Battle Cleric would be a good choice to a self sufficient Melee.

[hu-flung-pu]

6 arti/14 paladin warforged.

Flawless arcane and divine scroll/wand use. Defender of Syberis 2 battle engineer 1.

With some decent buffs that stack with everything else.

Bladesworn, defensive stance 2, divine power/Tensers transformation.

Self sufficient with respectable spike damage.

[porq]

I would also recommend monk. They have excellent dps, and enough damage mitigation and self healing abilities to make soloing fairly easy on the nerves.

Making it half elf with the cleric dillante is an excellent suggestion too, for the added healing power.

If you did end up going elf to keep your scimitars, you might be able to fit in the 2 dragonmarks of shadow to gain access to displacement. With enhancements you can get something ridiculous like 7 clickies worth 2 minutes each. Would really help these days since displacement was nerfed to self-cast only.

[Bodic]

LOB FvS

need I say more.

[erikbozelie]

grown fond of 12/6/2 bard/barb/fighter half orc which i did on my completionist runner.

ow what i miss that build.

[goodspeed]

for sheer self reliance a helf dark monk is it. Self healing, miss chance, sheer dmg in ki strikes.

The ranger melee mixes are ok for firing off a stream of death and then closing in as well like the helves angel. Or even the more monk 10k stars splash. But that's really more ranged then melee. Really self reliant though.

[Sani_Medicor]

I've been playing a half orc radiant beserker and it's crazy fun! I've got lots of nice buffs and I start my radiant aura in fights and rarely have to heal. The build is a half orc 12clr/6brb/2ftr wtih two handed weapons. If you're interested in the build, click on Certo in my signature below.