8 Fighter/6 monk/6 ranger - Looking for improvements/flaws

[Viren1]

The goal here was to have a khopesh weilding moncher style build that isn't completely and utterly gimped. Toon will only be second life (So if/when I get around to third life there will be more points available for starting stats) +5 tomes all around

Level 28 Lawful Neutral Human Female
(8 Fighter / 6 Monk / 6 Ranger / 8 Epic)

Fortitude: 22
Reflex: 17
Will: 13


Abilities 34pt

Strength 15 All level ups here
Dexterity 16
Constitution 15
Intelligence 9
Wisdom 13
Charisma 10


Skills:Max UMD, Concentration, Balance, Heal

Feats

Autogrants:

Bow strength
Rapid shot
TWF
Die hard
Precise shot
Manyshot
ITWF
Evasion
Adept Forms
Past Life: Barbarian

Selected:

Ranged:
- Weapon Focus: Ranged Weapons
- Point Blank Shot
- (Monk Bonus) Zen Archery
- Improved Critical: Ranged Weapons
- (Fighter Bonus)Improved precise shot
- Epic: Combat Archery
- Epic Destiny: Doubleshot

Favoured Enemy:
- Undead
- Elf

Melee:
- (Human Bonus) Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons
- (Monk Bonus) Power Attack
- Cleave
- Great Cleave
- (Fighter Bonus) Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons
- (Fighter Bonus) Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Khopesh
- (Fighter Bonus) Weapon Specialization: Slashing Weapons
- Greater Two Weapon Fighting
- (Fighter Bonus) Greater Weapon Focus: Slashing Weapons
- Epic Destiny: Perfect Two Weapon Fighting

Other:
- Path of Harmonious Balance: Fists of Light
- (Monk Bonus) Toughness
- Master of Forms
- Epic: Overwhelming Critical
- Empower Spell


Enhancements

Human:
- Human Versatility: Damage Boost (Rank 1)
- Human Adaptability: Strength (Rank 1)
- Improved Recovery (Rank 1)
- Sniper (Rank 3)
- Improved Recovery (Rank 1)

Kensei:
- Kensei Focus: Heavy Blades (Rank 1)
- Spiritual Bond (Rank 1)
- Strike With No Thought (Rank 1)
- Extra Action Boost (Rank 3)
- Kensei Weapon Specialization: Heavy Blades (Rank 1)
- Exotic Weapon Mastery (Rank 1)
- Haste Boost (Rank 3)
- Weapon Meditation (Rank 1)
- Conditioning (Rank 1)
- Shattering Shot (Rank 1)
- Strength (Rank 1)
- Kensei Weapon Specialization: Heavy Blades (Rank 1)
- Keen Edge (Rank 1)
- One With The Blade (Rank 1)
- Deadly Shot (Rank 1)

Arcane Archer:
- Arcane Archer (Rank 1)
- Morphic Arrows (Rank 1)
- Metalline Arrows (Rank 1)
- Energy of the Wild (Rank 2)
- Shock Arrows (Rank 1)
- Force Arrows (Rank 3)

Shintao:
- Bastion of Purity (Rank 1)
- Protection from Tainted Creatures (Rank 1)
- Iron Hand (Rank 1)
- Deft Strikes (Rank 3)


Ninja Spy:
- Shadow Veil (Rank 1)
- Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)
- Acrobatic (Rank 2)
- Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)
- Fists of Iron (Rank 1)
- Sneak Attack Training (Rank 1)

[CThruTheEgo]

If you're not attached to human or khopesh, consider going elf and using Pinion and dual Balizardes. Check out the Santa's Little Slayer link in my sig for such a build. There is a discussion in there about how Balizarde compares to some of the top khopeshes and Balizarde is the clear winner. Elf gets some good bonuses with rapiers and long bows, plus the added benefit of displacement dragonmarks.

Also, why take empower?

[Rull]

Hm, why the cha? And the 9 int?

I'd move to something like:

Strength 16
Dexterity 16
Constitution 16
Intelligence 8 (the +5 tome doesn't matter since it'd kick in at lvl19, netting only a couple more skill points)
Wisdom 12
Charisma 8
or drop the wis to 9 to get str to 17. Or is it prereq for something i'm forgetting.

There aren't nearly enough elves to make them a favorite enemy, go for giant, human or evil outsider.

Also I'd go male instead of female. Rest looks solid.
Balizardes are sweet (though not that great to dualwield), but if I'd go for them I'd still stay human, the healing amp is way more important than more damage.

[CThruTheEgo]

Balizardes are sweet (though not that great to dualwield)

Just because Balizarde has several defensive properties does not mean it is a poor choice for dual wielding. It's the crit profile that really makes them great and seems to be often overlooked. On a build like this (a centered kensai with the keen edge enhancement), it has a crit profile of 13-20x3 or 12-20x4 with fists of iron, and +1 multiplier on a 19-20 for each of overwhelming crit, master earth stance, and legendary dreadnaught's devestating critical. It's basically like wielding dual eSoS's.

[Rull]

Just because Balizarde has several defensive properties does not mean it is a poor choice for dual wielding. It's the crit profile that really makes them great and seems to be often overlooked. On a build like this (a centered kensai with the keen edge enhancement), it has a crit profile of 13-20x3 or 12-20x4 with fists of iron, and +1 multiplier on a 19-20 for each of overwhelming crit, master earth stance, and legendary dreadnaught's devestating critical. It's basically like wielding dual eSoS's.

Oh i'm not saying it makes it a poor choice, just not as great of a choice if those abilities were stacking. The crit profile defines the weapon so that hard to overlook, but without the extras there can be a few weapons better than 'just' a 18/x3 phlebotomizing.
I have a toon who owns two but is most often wielding one and in the offhand a khopesh (non-kensai so he can do that). I ran the math for that toon and it clearly favored fully upgraded alchemical or scintilating+mauling randomdrop instead of a second.
Keep in mind that the offhand receives only half STR, this influence the importance of critprofile compared to flat damage.
But alas, with kensais its one or the other. You'll have to compare 3 options; 2 random khopeshes; 2 balizarde; and balizarde+random rapier.
Of course this all depends on the quality of the weapons you have or assume getting, with meteoric rapiers of mangling the result will be different than with GS.

[CThruTheEgo]

I have a toon who owns two but is most often wielding one and in the offhand a khopesh (non-kensai so he can do that). I ran the math for that toon and it clearly favored fully upgraded alchemical or scintilating+mauling randomdrop instead of a second.
Keep in mind that the offhand receives only half STR, this influence the importance of critprofile compared to flat damage.
But alas, with kensais its one or the other. You'll have to compare 3 options; 2 random khopeshes; 2 balizarde; and balizarde+random rapier.
Of course this all depends on the quality of the weapons you have or assume getting, with meteoric rapiers of mangling the result will be different than with GS.

For a different build, I would agree that other weapons can certainly be better. But for a twf kensai, especially one that is centered, there isn't a better named option than Balizarde. I haven't run the numbers on the new prefixes/suffixes so I don't know how random lootgen compares. I also don't know how common they are so finding that perfect random combination might simply be a matter of luck. At least with Balizarde you can make clear progress toward getting what you want.

[Inoukchuk]

For a different build, I would agree that other weapons can certainly be better. But for a twf kensai, especially one that is centered, there isn't a better named option than Balizarde. I haven't run the numbers on the new prefixes/suffixes so I don't know how random lootgen compares. I also don't know how common they are so finding that perfect random combination might simply be a matter of luck. At least with Balizarde you can make clear progress toward getting what you want.

To answer that question I've never seen mangling in AH or pulled in loot, ever. Same for meteoric. The odds of pulling mangling of meteoric are probably not as good as winning power ball (1:176Million roughly). Maybe not even as good as winning powerball twice.

To the OP:

I agree with elf choice since it blends nicely with bows, rapiers, and dragon mark (which can replace khopesh proficiency). Unfortunately khopesh (all that said) will be a much much much better choice for 22 levels (well, more like 14 since I'd use Carnifex for the first 8 regardless). Khopesh also still provides much better options for situational swaps (smiters, disrupters, DR breakers, tactics from drow, etc) so take your pick.

I assume empower spell was supposed to be empower heal for cocoon? Maybe not since you don't qualify for it (needs 8 ranger or classes you don't have). If going elf could do extend for displacement SLA.

I would drop sniper in favor of some more stuff from kensei, AA, Tempest, or DWS as the return on investment is meh. You only spent 25 pts in kensei to qualify for tier 5 abilities which have progression 30 requirement, and there is better stuff than conditioning to choose from. I count your other trees as human (10), AA (13), Ninja (13), Shintao (9), for a total of 45, so you have 35 to play with in Kensei if needed. Iron fist is useless to you since it only applies to unarmed. Shattering shot must be shattering strike since it applies only to your focus group (heavy blades).

I'm a touch confused by your goals, which state you want to be a monkcher, but then you skip 10k stars (and requisite wisdom since level ups are in STR) and focus your kensei on TWF, so it's really just another melee with ranged option. Building and playing my Ginsu build (similar to this) I realized I melee 95% of the time, so most of the investment in archery is of less value than more investment in melee (yes, I still wreck things with fury shot), just my 2 cents. I originally had like 7 AP spent in AA and ended up dropping them all because those 7 AP were too precious.

[Arianka]

For a different build, I would agree that other weapons can certainly be better. But for a twf kensai, especially one that is centered, there isn't a better named option than Balizarde. I haven't run the numbers on the new prefixes/suffixes so I don't know how random lootgen compares. I also don't know how common they are so finding that perfect random combination might simply be a matter of luck. At least with Balizarde you can make clear progress toward getting what you want.

dual wield balizard with a celestia. both are piercing with great mods.

[CThruTheEgo]

dual wield balizard with a celestia. both are piercing with great mods.

Even in the offhand Balizarde offers better dps than Celestia for a build like this. A build that focuses more on sneak attacks might get better use out of Celestia.

[elg582]

My issue with this setup is that you are not focusing on either ranged or melee DPS, and you are going to wind up switching back and forth and not doing optimal damage either way.

If you are going to primary melee, ditch the AA line and any selected ranged feats; you don't need many arrows since it will only be for burst DPS every 2 min, max. Put those points into Tempest for more off-hand proc, and if you have a spare feat, grab B. Sword, since Heavy Blades includes both it and Khopesh. It just gives you more options.

If you are going to primary ranged, then you need more AA (and maybe a little DWS), 10k Stars, and more WIS.


Other thoughts: Empower and Toughness are not doing you much good; consider EWP: B. Sword (or anything other than Empower) and Deflect Arrows.

[jakedamus]

My issue with this setup is that you are not focusing on either ranged or melee DPS, and you are going to wind up switching back and forth and not doing optimal damage either way.

The goal here was to have a khopesh weilding moncher style build that isn't completely and utterly gimped. Toon will only be second life (So if/when I get around to third life there will be more points available for starting stats) +5 tomes all around

Level 28 Lawful Neutral Human Female
(8 Fighter / 6 Monk / 6 Ranger / 8 Epic)

This build may be useful: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...ensei+centered
Same level split.