Tactical Acrobat 12 Fgt/7 Rog /1 FVS

[karl_k0ch]

I'm looking to collect some fighter past lives on a toon which I enjoyed playing as a Quarterstaff user. This is why I'd like to stick with these weapons for the fighter lives. The warpriest tree offers a nice option to improve damage and tactical DCs, namely Divine Might. The acrobat tree enhances the use of QStaves greatly. I'm deliberately opting for raw dps and tactics instead of monk moves/stances.

The design goals for that build are:
- Quarterstaff user for a 3rd Life build
- Fighter Past life (I honestly don't care if I end up with 7fgt/7rog/6 or 18fgt/2rog, if that should offer better choices).
- Good Stunning Blow and Trip DCs.
- Not a HOrc, since I don't have that race and I find them ugly.

Currently, think that 12 Fighter/7 Rogue/ 1 FVS is a good choice since it gives access to some very nice Str-boosts (DM, Power Surge) and has enough feats (7 at levels, 7 fighter, 1 human) to support the following feats:

Regular Feats: Power Attack, Cleave, Stunning Blow, Great Cleave, THF, Dodge, Force of Personality, PL: Paladin.
Fighter Bonus Feats: WF, WS, GWF, GWS, and either ITHF or GTHF or CE and Improved Trip.

I'm tending towards Human for the Heal Amp and Extra Str when using action boosts (which this built will have plenty of).

Stats:
16 Str
11 Dex
16 Con
8 Wis
11 Int
16 Cha

(Dex and Int are odd since I have +3 tomes and starting with 11 unlocks dodge and CE at level 7)

My questions:

1. What are other viable Kensei Acrobat builds? I know of the Big F'ing Stick thread, but it's a bit too unwieldy and unfocused for my specific goals.
2. Is human a good choice? Or should I go HElf with Pally Dilly?
3. Is Improved Trip worth spending 2 Feats?
4. Is +9 Str at level 9 worth sacrificing monk stances and moves?

[Inoukchuk]

I'm looking to collect some fighter past lives on a toon which I enjoyed playing as a Quarterstaff user. This is why I'd like to stick with these weapons for the fighter lives. The warpriest tree offers a nice option to improve damage and tactical DCs, namely Divine Might. The acrobat tree enhances the use of QStaves greatly. I'm deliberately opting for raw dps and tactics instead of monk moves/stances.

The design goals for that build are:
- Quarterstaff user for a 3rd Life build
- Fighter Past life (I honestly don't care if I end up with 7fgt/7rog/6 or 18fgt/2rog, if that should offer better choices).
- Good Stunning Blow and Trip DCs.
- Not a HOrc, since I don't have that race and I find them ugly.

Currently, think that 12 Fighter/7 Rogue/ 1 FVS is a good choice since it gives access to some very nice Str-boosts (DM, Power Surge) and has enough feats (7 at levels, 7 fighter, 1 human) to support the following feats:

Regular Feats: Power Attack, Cleave, Stunning Blow, Great Cleave, THF, Dodge, Force of Personality, PL: Paladin.
Fighter Bonus Feats: WF, WS, GWF, GWS, and either ITHF or GTHF or CE and Improved Trip.

I'm tending towards Human for the Heal Amp and Extra Str when using action boosts (which this built will have plenty of).

Stats:
16 Str
11 Dex
16 Con
8 Wis
11 Int
16 Cha

(Dex and Int are odd since I have +3 tomes and starting with 11 unlocks dodge and CE at level 7)

My questions:

1. What are other viable Kensei Acrobat builds? I know of the Big F'ing Stick thread, but it's a bit too unwieldy and unfocused for my specific goals.
2. Is human a good choice? Or should I go HElf with Pally Dilly?
3. Is Improved Trip worth spending 2 Feats?
4. Is +9 Str at level 9 worth sacrificing monk stances and moves?

My initial thoughts are that 5 rogue/3 cleric may serve you better than 7 rogue/1 FVS. This would open up unyielding sovereignty, resilience of battle, and smite weakness. On the other hand if building for level 18 (figuring TR at 20) then really you need a 12/5/1 build so your initial build would be fine. DM + PS is outstanding for tactics so that should work well for you.

Helf would certainly help your saves (if you could fit in a 4 splash I'd go paladin instead of FVS or cleric but, you can't). The question is can you afford the AP. I'd definitely want to see your AP distribution. Imp trip is worth the feats if you can fit it. My inclination is to say it's worth dropping PL: Paladin for it (if I count feats correctly you can get all the rest if you do that). If you go helf then also drop either GTHF or Force of Personality.

[Toro12]

If your looking for tactics I'd suggest dwarf. I'm not a fan of humans with all their action boosts.

Why so much charisma?
-----
Other option to consider is wizard splash with a WF. Tactics and self heals.
Splash deep enough and grab the tensers transform from the new EK line. You lose out a lot without a shield but self heals and arcane buffs not being scrolled is very nice.

[karl_k0ch]

Inoukchuk, thanks for pointing out that 12/5/3 is an interesting option as well. If I choose to stay at cap for a bit, I'll keep an eye on that option. In regards to APs, I think that I'm going to spend about 38 points in Acrobat and at least 4 in warpriest. Not having played a Kensei post U19, I am pretty open to suggestions for that tree.

If your looking for tactics I'd suggest dwarf. I'm not a fan of humans with all their action boosts.

Why so much charisma?
-----
Other option to consider is wizard splash with a WF. Tactics and self heals.
Splash deep enough and grab the tensers transform from the new EK line. You lose out a lot without a shield but self heals and arcane buffs not being scrolled is very nice.

Am I under the correct impression that WF and Dwarf both have a total of +3 tactics?

To answer the charisma question first: Divine Might. It adds your cha mod to your Str.

This way, Humans have effectively +1 Str compared to Dwarf and WF who both have a CHA penalty. Human Adaptability adds another +1 Str (and possibly more Cha which might or might not increase your Cha Mod). In addition to that, there's +3 Str when you have an action boost active, so you have a total Str advantage of +5 to +6 whenever an action boost is active. This way, you have situationally more damage and similar DCs. In addition, you have Heal Amp, an extra feat as well as an extra skill point.

[Inoukchuk]

If your looking for tactics I'd suggest dwarf. I'm not a fan of humans with all their action boosts.

Why so much charisma?
-----
Other option to consider is wizard splash with a WF. Tactics and self heals.
Splash deep enough and grab the tensers transform from the new EK line. You lose out a lot without a shield but self heals and arcane buffs not being scrolled is very nice.

I didn't used to be a fan of action boosts either but human + fighter makes me change my mind and here's why:
Power surge last 1 min with 1 min cool down, so you can effectively keep it up all the time until you run out of boosts (should get you from shrine to shrine). Power surge counts as an action boost and so your action surge enhancements (like +3 str and cha) can therefor ALSO be up all the time making it very attractive. And it's on a separate cool down, so it stacks with human damage boost (also on a separate timer) and fighter haste boost for some wicked "burst" DPS and a great tactics booster.

[maddmatt70]

Looks good to me. For a fighter thf q-staff wielder you can not do any better I do not think. The only thing that would be nice is a little higher saves. Paladin levels are always tempting. Edit yeah I favor pally dilly Helf. For a 3 action point investment you get +3 divine grace. I like that better for this build.

[karl_k0ch]

Here's the idea from the OP, fleshed out. I'm not sure if I oversaw a feat, but it looks like I can fit in everything - I am going to ignore CE and IT in favor of more damage.

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 04.19.01
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 20 True Neutral Human Male
(12 Fighter \ 7 Rogue \ 1 Favored Soul) 
Hit Points: 310
Spell Points: 240 
BAB: 17\17\22\27\27
Fortitude: 16
Reflex: 13
Will: 12

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(36 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             16                    24
Dexterity            11                    14
Constitution         16                    19
Intelligence         11                    14
Wisdom                8                    11
Charisma             16                    19

Tomes Used
+1 Tome of Intelligence used at level 2
+3 Tome of Strength used at level 10
+3 Tome of Dexterity used at level 10
+3 Tome of Constitution used at level 10
+3 Tome of Intelligence used at level 10
+3 Tome of Wisdom used at level 10
+3 Tome of Charisma used at level 10

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 20)
Balance               4                    25
Bluff                 7                     8
Concentration         4                    13
Diplomacy             3                     4
Disable Device        4                    25
Haggle                7                    13
Heal                 -1                     0
Hide                  0                     2
Intimidate            4                     5
Jump                  7                    11
Listen               -1                     0
Move Silently         0                     2
Open Lock             4                     6
Perform               n/a                   n/a
Repair                0                     2
Search                4                    25
Spellcraft            0                     2
Spot                 -1                     0
Swim                  n/a                   n/a
Tumble                1                     3
Use Magic Device      7                    27

Level 1 (Rogue)
Skill: Balance (+4)
Skill: Bluff (+4)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+4)
Skill: Haggle (+4)
Skill: Intimidate (+1)
Skill: Jump (+4)
Skill: Open Lock (+4)
Skill: Search (+4)
Skill: Tumble (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+4)
Feat: (Human Bonus) Cleave
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Paladin
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Paladin
Feat: (Past Life) Past Life: Paladin
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack


Level 2 (Fighter)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Weapon Focus: Bludgeoning Weapons


Level 3 (Favored Soul)
Skill: Concentration (+3)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Deity) Favored by the Sovereign Host
Feat: (Selected) Stunning Blow


Level 4 (Rogue)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Balance (+3)
Skill: Disable Device (+2)
Skill: Search (+3)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+2)


Level 5 (Fighter)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Two Handed Fighting


Level 6 (Fighter)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Great Cleave


Level 7 (Rogue)
Skill: Balance (+3)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+3)


Level 8 (Fighter)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Weapon Specialization: Bludgeoning Weapons


Level 9 (Fighter)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Handed Fighting


Level 10 (Rogue)
Skill: Balance (+3)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+3)


Level 11 (Fighter)
Skill: Concentration (+0.5)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Improved Critical: Bludgeoning Weapons


Level 12 (Rogue)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Balance (+2)
Skill: Concentration (+2.5)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+2)
Feat: (Selected) Force of Personality


Level 13 (Fighter)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 14 (Fighter)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Greater Weapon Focus: Bludgeoning Weapons


Level 15 (Fighter)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Handed Fighting


Level 16 (Fighter)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 17 (Fighter)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)


Level 18 (Fighter)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Dodge
Feat: (Fighter Bonus) Greater Weapon Specialization: Bludgeoning Weapons


Level 19 (Rogue)
Skill: Balance (+5)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+4)


Level 20 (Rogue)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Balance (+3)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Haggle (+5)
Skill: Search (+1)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)