Hi guys!

So just days before the new pass, I finally got my first Epic level character in my PermaDeath guild. He's a Dwarf Ranger 18/Fighter 2, and pretty dang awesome -- the DPS on him rocks, and he's very survivable. The update raised his sustained DPS by a little bit thanks to Kensai, his burst DPS by a ton thanks to the various maneuvers, and his HP by just a little bit. I'm satisfied with his new power level, but I think I can squeeze a little more out of him... But I need help!

My PD guild has decided to allow the +20 Hearts of Wood to be used this time; so I want to take the time to rebuild my little dwarf from the ground up. My goals are simple: Two weapon fighting with Dwarven axes; maximum sustained and burst DPS possible; usability in low Epics (so a build that isn't viable until I unlock a Twist won't be very useful; PD leveling takes a while, and I'm only a few enhancements into Fury of the Wild). Finally, I want to keep his HP and saves as high as they currently are, or even higher; I don't mind losing AC, so long as my dodge remains strong to pick up the slack.

One last challenge: He is the character I unlocked 32 Point Builds on, so he himself is a 28er. OTOH, he has +2 Con, Str, and Wis tomes and a +1 Dex tome.

The way I see it, I've got three real options:

1) Abuse the fact that I no longer need Dex for Tempest. Get 4 levels of Fighter for more Kensai weapon buffs, max out the Tempest and Dwarf tree, pick up Cleave and Improved Cleave so I can get Overwhelming Critical next level. OWC on a Dwarven axe is very nice, so this is quite tempting. Also, the character already has a +2 Str tome, which means that I can put the minimum amount of Strength necessary to hit 23 into the build while maxxing Con. Then I'll pick up Throw Your Weight Around. This build would hurt my Reflex save, buff my Fort save, and give me many, many more HP. It would cut down on my To Hit but raise my damage. It also hurts my Tactical maneuvers.

2) Pick up a few levels of Barbarian (not sure how many), with maybe a splash of Fighter thrown in. If 6 or less levels of Barbarian (I do want to get 4th level Ranger spells) can get me a usable level of Rage, I should be doing even more damage. Especially if I go Con focused with TYWA; Rage increases Con, after all. The max amount of DPS I can see potential for is Ranger 14/Fighter 2/Barbarian 4; top of the Tempest tree, some Kensai, and Rage plus barbarian enhancements could mesh nicely.

3) Head into Rogue for a couple of levels, enough to get some bonus SA dice from Assassin. Maybe even enough to handle trapping. This will definetely boost my saves and maybe even burst/party DPS, but I like the character's current soloability and "charge into battle swinging wildly" mentality, as most of my other characters are Rogues or Casters.

4) I guess I could also go pure Ranger, or stay with 2 Fighter. Not sure if that's a good idea.


Thoughts?