Drow Ninja Assassin

[crabjuice]

Drow Ninja Assassin

When I first started DDO back in 2009 I had unlocked the drow race and monk class so naturally I wanted to make a drow monk. Being my first character, he moved to the sidelines as I explored the game with a host of alts. Fast forward to the present, I have returned to the game after a long break to find many interesting prestige enhancements combined with epic destinies to make for even more intricate class designs.

On my return I had one goal: to finally cap a character to 20. I decided it should be with my first character and I wanted something with a bit of style as I find that it is easier to commit to a character if I have spent time defining his/her identity.

So with some ddo.com research and a little bit of Lesser Reincarnate Magic I created my Ninja Assassin, Spektr. Everything seemed to fit with his name and persona. There was also the added bonus of being encouraged to use short-swords by the drow and ninja perks.

Further icing on the cake was delivered by QuantamFX, in one of the many Ninja Assassin threads floating about, his youtube link made me giggle.

I give you the Drow Ninja Assassin I have been using. All levelups in Strength yield a balanced stat placement once the build is complete. Please note that I used tomes to qualify for iTWF.

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 03.14.02 
DDO Character Planner Home Page 
 
Spektr  
Level 20 Lawful Neutral Drow Male 
(1 Fighter \ 6 Monk \ 13 Rogue)  
Hit Points: 268 
Spell Points: 0  
BAB: 14\14\19\24 
Fortitude: 14 
Reflex: 18 
Will: 9 
 
                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement 
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats 
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20) 
Strength             14                    21 
Dexterity            16                    20 
Constitution         14                    16 
Intelligence         16                    18 
Wisdom                8                    10 
Charisma             10                    12 
 
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 
 
Skills (Highest > Lowest Priority) 
UMD 
Search 
Disable Device 
Tumble 
Hide 
Move Silently 
Bluff 
Spot 
Concentration 
Balance 
Jump
Open Lock 
 
Level 1 (Rogue) 
Feat: (Selected) Toughness 
 
 
Level 2 (Monk) 
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Dodge 
 
 
Level 3 (Monk) 
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Mobility 
Feat: (Selected) Two Weapon Fighting 
 
 
Level 4 (Monk) 
Feat: (Monk Path) Path of Inevitable Dominion: Fists of Darkness 
 
 
Level 5 (Monk) 
 
 
Level 6 (Monk) 
Feat: (Selected) Precision 
 
 
Level 7 (Monk) 
Feat: (Monk Bonus) Combat Expertise 
 
 
Level 8 (Rogue) 
 
 
Level 9 (Rogue) 
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Weapon Fighting 
 
 
Level 10 (Rogue) 
 
 
Level 11 (Rogue) 
 
 
Level 12 (Rogue) 
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Piercing Weapons 
 
 
Level 13 (Rogue) 
 
 
Level 14 (Rogue) 
 
 
Level 15 (Rogue) 
Feat: (Selected) Spring Attack 
 
 
Level 16 (Rogue) 
Feat: (Rogue Bonus) Opportunist 
 
 
Level 17 (Rogue) 
 
 
Level 18 (Rogue) 
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Weapon Fighting 
 
 
Level 19 (Rogue) 
Feat: (Rogue Bonus) Improved Evasion 
 
 
Level 20 (Fighter) 
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Whirlwind Attack 
Enhancement: Rogue Damage Boost I 
Enhancement: Rogue Damage Boost II 
Enhancement: Rogue Extra Action Boost I 
Enhancement: Rogue Haste Boost I 
Enhancement: Rogue Haste Boost II 
Enhancement: Rogue Haste Boost III 
Enhancement: Rogue Haste Boost IV 
Enhancement: Rogue Skill Boost I 
Enhancement: Drow Weapon Attack I 
Enhancement: Drow Weapon Damage I 
Enhancement: Drow Weapon Damage II 
Enhancement: Elven Dexterity I 
Enhancement: Rogue Subtle Backstabbing I 
Enhancement: Way of the Clever Monkey I 
Enhancement: Monk Improved Recovery I 
Enhancement: Monk Ninja Spy I 
Enhancement: Winter's Touch 
Enhancement: Adept of Wind 
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I 
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II 
Enhancement: Rogue Faster Sneaking I 
Enhancement: Rogue Faster Sneaking II 
Enhancement: Rogue Assassin I 
Enhancement: Rogue Assassin II 
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Accuracy I 
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Accuracy II 
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Accuracy III 
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training I 
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training II 
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training III 
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training IV 
Enhancement: Improved Hide I 
Enhancement: Improved Hide II 
Enhancement: Improved Jump I 
Enhancement: Improved Jump II 
Enhancement: Improved Move Silently I 
Enhancement: Improved Move Silently II 
Enhancement: Improved Tumble I 
Enhancement: Improved Tumble II 
Enhancement: Rogue Dexterity I 
Enhancement: Fighter Toughness I 
Enhancement: Rogue Wand and Scroll Mastery I 
Enhancement: Rogue Wand and Scroll Mastery II

Quick Feat Breakdown
1.) Toughness - Rogues are squishy
Dodge - Monk Bonus feat to qualify for Ninja prestige
3.) Mobility - Prereq for Whirlwind Attack (Ninja Sauce)
TWF - Monk Bonus Feat
6.) Precision - I really dig this new precision: now multiple ways to reduce fort on mobs
Combat Expertise - Monk Bonus Feat for Whirlwind
9.) iTWF
12.) I Crit: Pierce
15.) Spring Attack - Whirlwind (this is getting expensive...)
Opportunist - Rogue Class Feat: reduced fort and double-strike gravy
18.) GTWF
Improved Evasion - Rogue Class Feat: Helps to shore up defenses
Whirlwind Attack - Fighter Bonus Feat: Fun but looks cooler with handwraps equipped.

Skills
There are plenty of skill points to spread around as you see fit. Of particular use are UMD, especially raise/heal scrolls and wands. Bluff - oh how I love thee, please hot-key this ASAP. Hide/Move Silently: Sneak should be hot-keyed and you should be in stealth whenever possible as it regens ki to fuel your Shadow Fade. Also, keep concentration up so that you have enough of a ki baseline to cast Shadow Fade. Search and Disable are obviously invaluable as well as Spot for a player like me who was newer to the content than most and did not immediately know where every trap was. TUUUMBLE - flip like a NINJA! Remember to put enough in balance and a few points in jump to make your life easier. Open Lock took a backseat and I slightly regret this but it hasn't hurt me yet. I have a feeling that end game content will make me wish I had sacrificed one of the above for more Open Lock.

Enhancements
The Ninja and Assassin prestiges are quite expensive. Full rogue haste is a must. Adept of Wind for wind stance II, I'm in this stance permanently as the increased speed and doublestrike work well with my setup. The bonus to jump from jidz bracers is a nice addition. I enjoy the increased sneak speed line. There is still room to take some toughness, wand, trap and dexterity enhancements to balance out the build.

Gear
Gear-wise I cannot give an endgame layout as I was pushing towards 20 with fresh eyes. The most useful weapons I found were (highest to lowest), crafted Holy Silver Shortswords of Pure Good, Envenomed Blades or Paralyzers, Banishing Short-swords and the odd handwrap for cleanup. There are plenty of named/crafted shortswords out there now that would put the hurt on but you've got to make a significant time investment to build for those on a character that many would have seen as flavor. I always kept search/disable items around and kept my stats up paying particular attention to heavy fort, toughness, seeker, ghost touch and improved deception mods.

Final Thoughts
Now that I am 20, I have been exploring the shadow-dancer destiny in anticipation of TRing into Arlathen's Angel of Death. I am well aware that paladins are low on the ddo totem pole but I've always wanted to give this class a try and it fits so well with Spektr's theme.