Elven - Divine AA can it work?

[RoguemcStabby]

I know some common divine/archer builds use 2 monk / 18 cleric among other variants.. And quite frankly I don't know "enough" about character building to confidently create a build, but I thought I'd give it a shot.

the splash is 1 fig / 1 wiz / 18 fvs, what I'm trying to accomplish is having a support healer/divine damage + some effective ranged damage. 32 points, some tomes, and no past lives..

ED- if this build even makes it into epic, I plan on swapping between EA and Shiradi depending on whether I need heavy caster or heavy ranger. Twists in Magister (for DCs), Shadowdancer (mainly for Lithe), perhaps draconic (although i have to look into this). desired 4/2/1 for Twist tiers.

Past lives- If I ever go insane with this build, would probably do Ranger, Wizard, Sorc past lives.

Concerns - >

Are DC's going to be good enough in elite (at level) and epic (hard) content. I like destruction. Alternatively can swap 2 necro feats for sf: Evocation and sf: Greater Evoc.

Am I losing a lot in terms of survivability and power by not being able to get the lvl 20 DR feat or the capstone?

Is there something I'm not taking into consideration in this build?

Gear -> Not going there yet, but will likely be finding places to slot Radiance / Devotion as well as Necromancy Focus and Spell Penn items.

Character Generated Using: DDO Character Generator
Direct Link to Build: http://www.ddochargen.com/home.aspx?build=51950

Favored Soul 18 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1
Female Elf - Chaotic Good
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LEVEL 1:
Race Selected: Female Elf
Alignment Selected: Chaotic Good
Class Selected: Fighter (Fighter 1)
Abilities Raised: DEX: 13, CON: 13, WIS: 18, CHA: 13
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (1), Jump +2 (2)
Feats Selected: Zen Archery, Point Blank Shot
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 2:
Class Selected: Wizard (Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (2)
Feats Selected: Maximize Spell
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 3:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 1 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (3)
Feats Selected: Rapid Shot, Favored by the Silver Flame
Tomes Applied: DEX: +1, CON: +1, CHA: +1
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 4:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 2 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Abilities Raised: WIS: 19
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (4)
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 5:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 3 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (5)
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 6:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 4 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (6)
Feats Selected: Weapon Focus (Ranged)
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 7:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 5 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (7)
Feats Selected: Energy Resistance (Fire)
Tomes Applied: STR: +2, INT: +2, WIS: +2
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 8:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 6 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Abilities Raised: WIS: 22
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (8), Jump +1 (3)
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 9:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 7 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (9), Jump +1 (4)
Feats Selected: Precise Shot
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 10:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 8 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (10), Jump +1 (5)
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 11:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 9 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (11), Jump +1 (6)
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 12:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 10 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Abilities Raised: WIS: 23
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (12), Jump +1 (7)
Feats Selected: Improved Critical (Ranged),
Energy Resistance (Electricity)
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 13:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 11 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (13), Jump +1 (8)
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 14:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 12 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (14), Jump +1 (9)
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 15:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 13 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (15), Jump +1 (10)
Feats Selected: Spell Focus (Necromancy)
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 16:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 14 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Abilities Raised: WIS: 24
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (16), Jump +1 (11)
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 17:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 15 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (17), Jump +1 (12)
Feats Selected: Energy Resistance (Acid)
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 18:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 16 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (18), Jump +1 (13)
Feats Selected: Greater Spell Focus (Necromancy)
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 19:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 17 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (19), Jump +1 (14)
________________________________________________________________

LEVEL 20:
Class Selected: Favored Soul (Favored Soul 18 / Fighter 1 / Wizard 1)
Abilities Raised: WIS: 25
Skills Ranks Raised: Concentration +1 (20), Jump +1 (15)
Enhancements Selected: Elven Ranged Damage I,
Elven Arcanum I, Favored Soul Life Magic I, Favored Soul Smiting I,
Favored Soul Energy of the Scion I, Favored Soul Charisma I,
Elven Enchantment Resistance I, Favored Soul Prayer of Life I,
Favored Soul Smiting II, Favored Soul Life Magic II,
Favored Soul Energy of the Scion II, Favored Soul Prayer of Smiting I,
Favored Soul Improved Spell Penetration I, Favored Soul Charisma II,
Favored Soul Wisdom I, Elven Ranged Damage II, Elven Arcane Archer I,
Arcane Archer (Imbue Force Arrows), Favored Soul Improved Spell Penetration II,
Favored Soul Life Magic III, Favored Soul Life Magic IV,
Favored Soul Smiting III, Favored Soul Smiting IV,
Arcane Archer (Conjure +2 Arrows), Arcane Archer (Conjure +3 Arrows),
Arcane Archer (Imbue Acid Arrows), Arcane Archer (Imbue Explosive Arrows),
Favored Soul Angel of Vengeance I, Favored Soul Prayer of Smiting II,
Favored Soul Prayer of Smiting III, Arcane Archer (Conjure +4 Arrows),
Arcane Archer (Imbue Force Burst Arrows), Arcane Archer (Imbue Terror Arrows),
Elven Ranged Attack I, Favored Soul Prayer of Life II,
Favored Soul Longbow Specialization I, Favored Soul Longbow Specialization II,
Arcane Archer (Conjure +5 Arrows), Arcane Archer (Imbue Slaying Arrows),
Favored Soul Prayer of Incredible Smiting I, Favored Soul Prayer of Incredible Smiting II
Stats at End of Level 20:
HP:218 SP:1726 AC:12 FORT:15 REFL:13 WILL:21 BAB:+15/+15/+20/+25
STR:10(0) DEX:14(+2) CON:14(+2) INT:10(0) WIS:26(+8) CHA:16(+3)
Balance:2, Bluff:3, Concentration:22, Diplomacy:3,
Disable Device: n/a, Haggle:3, Heal:8, Hide:2, Intimidate:3,
Jump:15, Listen:10, Move Silently:2, Open Lock: n/a,
Perform: n/a, Repair:0, Search:2, Spot:10, Swim:0,
Tumble: n/a, UMD: n/a

[unbongwah]

As you've doubtless noticed, pulling off a FvS AA is tricky: if you stay pure, you're feat-starved; if you MC, you lose the capstone (DR 10 + SLA) and some Spell Pen. And there's always the question of whether you're better off pulling out a bow or casting a light spell instead. In your case, I don't see Bow STR or Manyshot in your build, which is really gonna hurt your ranged DPS. And TBH, I think you may be trying to do too much; in particular, not having any Spell Pen on an Implosion or Destruction build seems unfortunate. You might be better off with a LASER-style build focused on Necromancy but with Silver Flame SLA and light spells for some pew-pew.

That said, if you're committed to the idea of a divine AA, wowo has a whole bunch of AA builds in this thread. However, his builds are archers first, casters second; yours appears to have the opposite priorities. Given the constraints and priorities you appear to be operating on, I'd probably do something like this:

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 03.16.01
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 25 True Neutral Elf Female
(1 Ranger \ 1 Wizard \ 18 Favored Soul \ 5 Epic) 
Hit Points: 276
Spell Points: 2474 
BAB: 14\14\19\24
Fortitude: 15
Reflex: 16
Will: 21

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(32 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 25)
Strength             12                    14
Dexterity            15                    17
Constitution         12                    14
Intelligence          8                    10
Wisdom               17                    26
Charisma             12                    14

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

Level 1 (Ranger)
Feat: (Favored Enemy) Favored Enemy: Undead
Feat: (Selected) Point Blank Shot


Level 2 (Favored Soul)
Feat: (Deity) Favored by the Silver Flame


Level 3 (Favored Soul)
Feat: (Selected) Rapid Shot


Level 4 (Favored Soul)
Ability Raise: WIS


Level 5 (Favored Soul)


Level 6 (Favored Soul)
Feat: (Favored Soul Bonus) Energy Resistance: Fire
Feat: (Selected) Weapon Focus: Ranged Weapons


Level 7 (Favored Soul)


Level 8 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: WIS
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Maximize Spell
Enhancement: Elven Arcanum I
Enhancement: Elven Ranged Damage I
Enhancement: Favored Soul Angel of Vengeance I
Enhancement: Favored Soul Prayer of Smiting I
Enhancement: Favored Soul Prayer of Life I
Enhancement: Favored Soul Prayer of Incredible Smiting I
Enhancement: Favored Soul Prayer of Incredible Life I
Enhancement: Force Manipulation I
Enhancement: Favored Soul Smiting I
Enhancement: Favored Soul Smiting II
Enhancement: Favored Soul Life Magic I
Enhancement: Favored Soul Life Magic II
Enhancement: Favored Soul Energy of the Scion I
Enhancement: Favored Soul Energy of the Scion II
Enhancement: Favored Soul Wisdom I
Enhancement: Favored Soul Wand and Scroll Mastery I
Enhancement: Favored Soul Wand and Scroll Mastery II


Level 9 (Favored Soul)
Feat: (Selected) Manyshot
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Force Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer I
Enhancement: Favored Soul Life Magic III


Level 10 (Favored Soul)


Level 11 (Favored Soul)


Level 12 (Favored Soul)
Ability Raise: WIS
Feat: (Favored Soul Bonus) Energy Resistance: Electricity
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Ranged Weapons


Level 13 (Favored Soul)


Level 14 (Favored Soul)
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Acid Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Explosive Arrows
Enhancement: Silver Flame Exorcism (Favored Soul)
Enhancement: Favored Soul Angel of Vengeance II
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +2 Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +3 Arrows
Enhancement: Favored Soul Smiting III
Enhancement: Favored Soul Energy of the Scion III
Enhancement: Favored Soul Wisdom II


Level 15 (Favored Soul)
Feat: (Selected) Quicken Spell


Level 16 (Favored Soul)
Ability Raise: WIS


Level 17 (Favored Soul)
Feat: (Favored Soul Bonus) Energy Resistance: Cold


Level 18 (Favored Soul)
Feat: (Selected) Spell Focus: Necromancy


Level 19 (Favored Soul)


Level 20 (Favored Soul)
Ability Raise: WIS
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Force Burst Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Slaying Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Imbue Terror Arrows
Enhancement: Favored Soul Longbow Specialization I
Enhancement: Favored Soul Longbow Specialization II
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +4 Arrows
Enhancement: Elven Arcane Archer: Conjure +5 Arrows
Enhancement: Favored Soul Prayer of Smiting II
Enhancement: Favored Soul Prayer of Smiting III
Enhancement: Favored Soul Prayer of Incredible Smiting II
Enhancement: Favored Soul Smiting IV
Enhancement: Favored Soul Life Magic IV
Enhancement: Favored Soul Wand and Scroll Mastery III


Level 21 (Favored Soul)
Feat: (Selected) Spell Focus: Evocation


Level 22 (Favored Soul)


Level 23 (Favored Soul)


Level 24 (Favored Soul)
Feat: (Selected) Empower Healing Spell


Level 25 (Favored Soul)

Feats: Bow STR + Manyshot are the minimum I would want on any AA; without them you're just wasting your time, IMHO. After that, it's a question of priorities. IC:Ranged is an obvious choice, esp. if you've got a bow with an expanded crit range (e.g., Silver Longbow, Bow of Sinew). If you're not making a monkcher, I would skip Zen Archery: the extra to-hit is nice but not essential, particularly under the new AC system; if you had a feat to spare I'd get Precision instead. Likewise, if you're not going for IPS, I would skip Prec Shot, though not having Archer's Focus kinda sucks. Besides Maximize, I'm on the fence about which metamagics you need. I took SF:Evo & Necro with the thought you could twist in from Magister & DI to get your DCs to EH-acceptable levels; but I'm really just making this up as I go.

Base CON 12 and no Toughness? That's as close to a "glass cannon" build as I get these days. But feats are so tight I honestly don't know what to drop for Toughness. I just hope as a self-healing ranged build you can avoid the worst of the aggro. But definitely make your survivability gear a high priority!

I probably wouldn't even bother with a bow for the first several levels unless there's a lever you need to shoot. Just swing the best 2H weapon you've got until you have AA+MS.

[RoguemcStabby]

Thank you for the thoughts and the work.... and yes, before I decided to venture into doing this, I had no clue how challenging this build would be until I started looking into how it may be done.

The idea for a ranged/divine came from things I noticed playing my lvl 25, 32 pt, pure cleric.
He has great gear and +2 (some +3) tomes.

For the most part, in EH content, his SP pool and healing abilities surpass what is often needed in (good) groups.
Raid healing, he's adequate, can solo heal some EH raids. It caught me off guard because I thought I would be doing more healing in epic than in heroic, I was wrong. So now I need something to do in between the one or two mass heals I have to drop....

BEFORE this thread turns into a discussion on clerics, I thought that an FVS / AA build might address some of these issues:

IE:

Being able to heal when needed - through some mass as well as single healing spells, supported by Life magic / prayer of life enhancements + devotion / healing lore items.

(with the extra pool of SP available)

Being able to cast Spellpower based damage - searing light, divine punishment, chaos hammer and holy smite are the big ones I'm considering, supported by Radiance / radiance lore (very few items exist) items + smiting / prayer of smiting enhancements. (no experience with chaos hammer _at all_ so I don't really know if it's a good spell to use)

Being able to beat saves on DC based spells, primarily Destruction, using the SF: Necromancy/Greater Necromancy feats and Necromancy items available via crafting or farming. I am also aware that having a high DC will prevent mobs from making the saves against certain direct damage spells. (evocation comes to mind).

Archery being there to help deal damage when I need to conserve SP for healing, but the group isn't super squishy.
Do I want to one-shot trash, not necessarily. I actually want to avoid peeling aggro so my concern with something like manyshot is that it would (unless it's a guaranteed insta-killer, but I assume that's best left to pure Rangers)

My concerns about Spell Penn, I am only _guessing_ is that I would have enough with enhancements + spell penn item, to make it a non-issue except for a few different mobs (like jarilith, rakshasa). I don't have the math / formula to figure that out.

What I do not understand is bow strength and why it is important (although I can make some educated guesses).

[Charononus]

Keep in mind that if the ep comes out anything remotely like what was released in alpha these divine aa builds will pretty much be completely broken.

[RoguemcStabby]

Keep in mind that if the ep comes out anything remotely like what was released in alpha these divine aa builds will pretty much be completely broken.

Yeah I keep ignoring the coming EP lol.... worst case scenario respec I guess... although I do hate investing all that time.. :/

[RoguemcStabby]

Looking at this further:

probably going to have to drop the idea of having high enough spell penn and DC for this to be viable.. in the end.. my best guess (without a bunch of past lives, etc.) a more reasonable approach would be an AA / FVS that has decent ranged damage and has fair healing / spellpower based damage spells.