A little help please - Ninja Spy Dex Short Sword build

[Eilierie]

So when the new enhancement line came out I was excited to build a Short Sword Ninja Spy DEX based build.

Right now I'm using Tiefling Assasin Blade ( never able to pull a second one... ) and plan to farm out two Razorend from Tome of Legends

Both weapons have 15 - 20 Crit range so I was relying heavily on Crits and Wind stance double strikes.

Okay so now the help - I'm not very good at getting these multi class synergy things down.

• What I wanted to do was add wolf form from Druid which requires only 2 levels however I've read here and there that the Ninja Spy Dex damage isn't working right on these builds ?
• Also if I'm understanding the wiki correctly then what weapons I'm using doesn't matter because the wolf form negates that ?
• Does anyone have any advice on how to maximize the build I'm trying to do ?
• Does going to any other level of Druid rather than 2 give me something huge ?

Thanks for any help and I have my +20 heart to use if needed.

[unbongwah]

• At present, there seems to be no way of adding DEX to dmg on unarmed or shapeshifted builds; not sure if that's WAI.
• Wolf/bear base dmg and crit profile is based on the form, not the weapon(s) you have equipped. Base wolf form is d6 x2 19-20; winter wolf is d10 x3 19-20, which is why every wolf build should go for at least druid lvl 8, pref. 9 so you can also take Natural Fighting feats.
• Dmg effects from your mainhand weapon will carry over to animal form; e.g., if you have a Holy Burst weapon equipped, your wolf form gains holy burst too. The cool thing about this is since base dmg is based on the form, it doesn't matter what the weapon is; a holy burst dagger is just as useful to a shapeshifter as a holy burst khopesh. Also the +[W] modifier from Shillelagh will carry over if you have a wooden weapon equipped.
• For your offhand (whether it's a weapon or shield), only passive bonuses carry over, like Seeker, Vertigo, etc.
• TWF feats currently boost wolf/bear DPS, however Cordovan confirmed this is not WAI. Dunno if it's being patched in U20, but as a general rule I never base a build on something I know is a bug/exploit that's gonna be patched out.

BTW, does ToD now work with ki weapons? It seems strange to me that Ninja would be focused on slashing/piercing weapons (esp. short swords & shuriken), yet the signature dark-monk special atk was unarmed-only. But I don't have a high-level dark monk to test this on; mine are all light ATM.

[Darkrok]

[LIST][*]At present, there seems to be no way of adding DEX to dmg on unarmed or shapeshifted builds; not sure if that's WAI.

There is one way but it requires splashing 3 rogue levels for it to work:

Dagger in the Back: You can now use your Dexterity for damage with Daggers and Kukris. If you possess the Weapon Finesse feat, this also applies to melee weapons with which you can use your Dexterity modifier to hit. AP Cost: 1 Progression: 5 Requires: Knife in the Darkness, Level 3 Rogue

So basically you would need to take 3 rogue levels and the Weapon Finesse feat. I can't guarantee this will work for wolf form attacks (though it should) but I can definitely verify it worked for me with wraps on a 1 monk/19 rogue build.

[Eilierie]

ok, thanks. It looks like for a Short Sword Ninja Spy ( SSNS ) I need to stay a pure monk, else whats the point of having swords !

On ToD, I could try it out with my other Monk but he is a handwrap pally fighter pajama tank so I have to find a Ki weapon to try it with.

I know Fists of Light still work with the SSNS swords.

[Karningul]

I just wanted to put out there that the rogue 3 plan does NOT work. It never actually worked on live, even though it put the "Dex to Damage" on handwraps when you looked at them. According to the lamannia release notes, it looks like, rather than fixing it, they've decided to say it is way as intended and that evidently unarmed strikes are not weapons.

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...ed-10-31-2013)

"•Rogue Assassin:
•Tool-tip for Dagger in the Back now clarifies that 'This does not work with handwraps. Handwraps are considered Unarmed Combat, not Melee Weapons.'"

All a bit **** if you ask me, but I'm biased since I foolishly used my +20 heart of wood on my monk before the "fix" was released. In theory, there is the possibility of the Improved Weapon Finesse enhancement from Ranger eventually working, since it's listed as in the known bugs, but I suspect that they'll make that work the same as Dagger in the Back.

[Eilierie]

[LIST]

BTW, does ToD now work with ki weapons? It seems strange to me that Ninja would be focused on slashing/piercing weapons (esp. short swords & shuriken), yet the signature dark-monk special atk was unarmed-only. But I don't have a high-level dark monk to test this on; mine are all light ATM.

i equipped a single kama i got from an eDA loot grab, ran into Searing Heights - hit ToD and it worked.