Build Setup Suggestions U17

[lucreciacrescent]

Ok guys, so I'm planning on building an Artificer for my next TR and it will be my first time to play and I have an idea on how to build one but I would love it if you give out your suggestions and recommendations for this build Thanks!

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 03.14.02
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Level 20 True Neutral Warforged Male
(20 Artificer) 
Hit Points: 382
Spell Points: 1375 
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 13
Reflex: 16
Will: 12

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(36 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength              8                    12
Dexterity            16                    20
Constitution         18                    24
Intelligence         18                    30
Wisdom                6                    10
Charisma              6                    10

Tomes Used
+1 Tome of Strength used at level 3
+1 Tome of Dexterity used at level 3
+1 Tome of Constitution used at level 3
+1 Tome of Intelligence used at level 3
+1 Tome of Wisdom used at level 3
+1 Tome of Charisma used at level 3
+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
+3 Tome of Strength used at level 11
+3 Tome of Dexterity used at level 11
+3 Tome of Constitution used at level 11
+3 Tome of Intelligence used at level 11
+3 Tome of Wisdom used at level 11
+3 Tome of Charisma used at level 11
+4 Tome of Strength used at level 15
+4 Tome of Dexterity used at level 15
+4 Tome of Constitution used at level 15
+4 Tome of Intelligence used at level 15
+4 Tome of Wisdom used at level 15
+4 Tome of Charisma used at level 15

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 20)
Balance               5                    17
Bluff                -2                     1
Concentration         8                    31
Diplomacy            -2                     1
Disable Device        8                    37
Haggle               -2                    17
Heal                 -2                     1
Hide                  3                     6
Intimidate           -2                     1
Jump                 -1                    13
Listen               -2                     1
Move Silently         3                     6
Open Lock             7                    29
Perform              n/a                    n/a
Repair                8                    37
Search                6                    37
Spot                  2                    24
Swim                 -1                     2
Tumble                4                     7
Use Magic Device      2                    26

Level 1 (Artificer)
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Artificer
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Artificer
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Artificer
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Barbarian
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Barbarian
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Barbarian
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Druid
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Druid
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Druid
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Favored Soul
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Favored Soul
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Favored Soul
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Ranger
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Ranger
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Ranger
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Sorcerer
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Sorcerer
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Sorcerer
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Wizard
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Wizard
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Wizard
Feat: (Selected) Point Blank Shot


Level 2 (Artificer)


Level 3 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness


Level 4 (Artificer)
Ability Raise: INT
Feat: (Artificer Bonus) Spell Focus: Evocation


Level 5 (Artificer)


Level 6 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Insightful Reflexes


Level 7 (Artificer)


Level 8 (Artificer)
Ability Raise: INT
Feat: (Artificer Bonus) Empower Spell


Level 9 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Focus: Evocation


Level 10 (Artificer)


Level 11 (Artificer)


Level 12 (Artificer)
Ability Raise: INT
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Ranged Weapons
Feat: (Artificer Bonus) Rapid Shot


Level 13 (Artificer)


Level 14 (Artificer)


Level 15 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Augment Summoning


Level 16 (Artificer)
Ability Raise: INT
Feat: (Artificer Bonus) Maximize Spell


Level 17 (Artificer)


Level 18 (Artificer)
Feat: (Selected) Precise Shot


Level 19 (Artificer)


Level 20 (Artificer)
Ability Raise: INT
Feat: (Artificer Bonus) Quicken Spell
Enhancement: Artificer Damage Boost I
Enhancement: Artificer Damage Boost II
Enhancement: Artificer Crossbow Attack I
Enhancement: Artificer Crossbow Damage I
Enhancement: Artificer Crossbow Damage II
Enhancement: Artificer Improved Rune Arm Use I
Enhancement: Artificer Improved Rune Arm Use II
Enhancement: Artificer Improved Rune Arm Use III
Enhancement: Artificer Improved Rune Arm Use IV
Enhancement: Artificer Battle Engineer I
Enhancement: Artificer Rune Arm Overcharge I
Enhancement: Artificer Rune Arm Overcharge II
Enhancement: Arcane Empowerment
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II
Enhancement: Racial Toughness III
Enhancement: Racial Toughness IV
Enhancement: Kinetic Spellcasting I
Enhancement: Reconstructive Spellcasting I
Enhancement: Deadly Kinetics I
Enhancement: Mighty Reconstruction I
Enhancement: Force Manipulation I
Enhancement: Force Manipulation II
Enhancement: Force Manipulation III
Enhancement: Force Manipulation IV
Enhancement: Force Manipulation V
Enhancement: Force Manipulation VI
Enhancement: Force Manipulation VII
Enhancement: Repair Manipulation I
Enhancement: Repair Manipulation II
Enhancement: Repair Manipulation III
Enhancement: Repair Manipulation IV
Enhancement: Repair Manipulation V
Enhancement: Repair Manipulation VI
Enhancement: Repair Manipulation VII
Enhancement: Artificer Energy of Creation I
Enhancement: Artificer Energy of Creation II
Enhancement: Artificer Intelligence I
Enhancement: Artificer Intelligence II
Enhancement: Artificer Intelligence III
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution I
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution II

Epic Feats: Epic Toughness (Lvl 21) & Combat Archery (Lvl 24)

Equipment:
Head: Helm of the Blue Dragon (+8 Int)
Trinket: Litany of the Dead
Necklace: Epic Shamman's beads
Cloak: Adamantine Cloak of the Dragon
Armor: Flawless Blue Dragonscale Docent
Belt: Daggertooth's Belt
Boots: Treads of Falling Shadow EE
Gloves: Gloves of Forgotten Craft
Goggles: Intricate Field Optics (+3 Int)
Bracers: Ventilated Arm Bands
Ring: Epic Ring of the Stalker (Tier 3)
Ring: Epic Ring of Master Artifice (Tier 3)
Weapon: Epic Hellfire Crossbow
Rune Arm: Lucid Dreams
Quiver: Quiver of Poison



So that's basically it, I know it's a lot of Gear Grinding but I don't mind

Anyway, I need help with my Gear Selection and Feat Selection I can fix my spell selection anytime anyway so just Gear Selection and Feat Selection please! I'm planning to be forced & repair spec for survivability and Blade Barrier DC's

All Suggestions are welcome!

Edit: Any ideas on what I can put in the +5 Craftable of the Lucid Dreams Rune Arm?

[Asmodeus451]

my advice: take some points out of CON and put them in STR or CHA.

14 Con is enough for a non-frontline toon, but even just dropping it to 16 will get you 4 points.

reason for STR: getting Encumbered SUCKS. and with 8 STR it WILL happen often enough to get annoying. Plus you can carry more loot.

reason for CHA. UMD. Arti's are KINGS of umd, so why not take advantage? You may not need Heal scrolls as a WF, but there are other reasons to want a high UMD


EDIT: GRRRR. didnt read past the build itself. still, ET is only (IIRC) 50 hp, so up to you if you want more hp or slightly more versatility.

[lucreciacrescent]

my advice: take some points out of CON and put them in STR or CHA.

14 Con is enough for a non-frontline toon, but even just dropping it to 16 will get you 4 points.

reason for STR: getting Encumbered SUCKS. and with 8 STR it WILL happen often enough to get annoying. Plus you can carry more loot.

reason for CHA. UMD. Arti's are KINGS of umd, so why not take advantage? You may not need Heal scrolls as a WF, but there are other reasons to want a high UMD


EDIT: GRRRR. didnt read past the build itself. still, ET is only (IIRC) 50 hp, so up to you if you want more hp or slightly more versatility.

Thanks for the suggestion What will you suggest in replacement for Epic Toughness since my CON will be lowered? I was thinking of replacing Combat Archery with ESF: Evocation as well, one more epic feat open :P

[CThruTheEgo]

Check out the link in my sig. You'll find a full build setup including feats, gear, EDs, etc.

If you are not planning on keeping this character at cap for good, then I would not recommend combat archery. It is currently broken and only gives 2% dodge. And it doesn't look like they are going to get around to fixing it anytime soon either. But lesser reincarnation is also bugged and has the (very small but still possible) potential to wipe out all of your ED xp. Even if you are keeping this character as an arti, combat archery is still debatable. The best epic feat choices for an arti are epic spell focus evocation, combat archery, and epic toughness, so choose among those based on your priorities. If I had it to do over again, I'd go with epic toughness and epic spell focus and drop combat archery. The devs don't seem to care that it's a completely useless feat, which means it's probably going to stay that way.

EDIT: Ignoring combat archery would also allow you to put all of your level up points into int.

Take your crossbow feats in the lower levels and casting feats at later levels. The crossbow is most powerful early on and casting ability blossoms very late for an arti.

For the repair line I would recommend going 1/0/0. Quickened reconstructs will still hit you for more than enough to save you when you need it. And drop the energy of creation enhancements, it is hard to burn through an arti's sp.

I would suggest 7/1/1 in both force and acid and getting an Epic Corruption of Nature. The inherent corrosion on it puts its damage way ahead of the force rune arms. I have also heard, though not confirmed, that spell power affects the force rune arms to a lesser degree than the acid ones, making acid inherently more powerful.

I would disagree with Asmodeus about str and cha. I started with 8 str and never had a problem. You do have to keep str gear equipped but that's not really a problem. It's true that UMD is one of an arti's specialities, but that is exactly why you can dump cha. Arti's get insanely high UMD. Even with death penalties you should still be able to use level 8/9 scrolls at no fail or close to it.

Hope that helps and enjoy your arti.

[lucreciacrescent]

Check out the link in my sig. You'll find a full build setup including feats, gear, EDs, etc.

If you are not planning on keeping this character at cap for good, then I would not recommend combat archery. It is currently broken and only gives 2% dodge. And it doesn't look like they are going to get around to fixing it anytime soon either. But lesser reincarnation is also bugged and has the (very small but still possible) potential to wipe out all of your ED xp. Even if you are keeping this character as an arti, combat archery is still debatable. The best epic feat choices for an arti are epic spell focus evocation, combat archery, and epic toughness, so choose among those based on your priorities. If I had it to do over again, I'd go with epic toughness and epic spell focus and drop combat archery. The devs don't seem to care that it's a completely useless feat, which means it's probably going to stay that way.

EDIT: Ignoring combat archery would also allow you to put all of your level up points into int.

Take your crossbow feats in the lower levels and casting feats at later levels. The crossbow is most powerful early on and casting ability blossoms very late for an arti.

For the repair line I would recommend going 1/0/0. Quickened reconstructs will still hit you for more than enough to save you when you need it. And drop the energy of creation enhancements, it is hard to burn through an arti's sp.

I would suggest 7/1/1 in both force and acid and getting an Epic Corruption of Nature. The inherent corrosion on it puts its damage way ahead of the force rune arms. I have also heard, though not confirmed, that spell power affects the force rune arms to a lesser degree than the acid ones, making acid inherently more powerful.

I would disagree with Asmodeus about str and cha. I started with 8 str and never had a problem. You do have to keep str gear equipped but that's not really a problem. It's true that UMD is one of an arti's specialities, but that is exactly why you can dump cha. Arti's get insanely high UMD. Even with death penalties you should still be able to use level 8/9 scrolls at no fail or close to it.

Hope that helps and enjoy your arti.

Wow! Thanks for that suggestion! Had me thinking there for a moment I'll rerun my build and consider your suggestions Thanks!

[Asmodeus451]

i actually agree with almost all of what Cthru says particularly about Xbow v. Casting
feats.

my advice was geared more toward someone who is new to the game/class.

looking a bit closer at your build, that seems not to be the case here. (3x arti lives )

so ya, as long as you keep STR and CHA items equipped, 8 and 6 starting shouldnt be a problem

[lucreciacrescent]

i actually agree with almost all of what Cthru says particularly about Xbow v. Casting
feats.

my advice was geared more toward someone who is new to the game/class.

looking a bit closer at your build, that seems not to be the case here. (3x arti lives )

so ya, as long as you keep STR and CHA items equipped, 8 and 6 starting shouldnt be a problem

Wooops! xD I accidentally added that, hehe not meant to be in the build outline LoL! xD my bad!