Cetus: The Supreme Bladeforged Fighter

[Roland_D'Arabel]

****.... well thats pretty hard to pass up. I was thinking you would get better defensive options through a deeper pally splash but this is way better.

I haven't played a monk or centered toon ever, does the Ki generation keep up with constant use of Shadow Veil 1/min, and Fists of Iron approx. 1 every 3sec?

So I keep hearing that Ninja Poison is amazing, is this just the DoT effect that is being referred to? or is the Poison Exploit Ninjutsu also utilized? It seems like it would be difficult to work in touch of despair along with all the other things in an attack rotation (cleave->Gcleave->fists of iron->momentum swing->lay waste)

I can't imagine a time when you will ever run out of ki on this build. I have about 95 or 100 max ki and my yellow bar is always full. This is with running perma shadow veil and always using fists of iron.

The ninja poison is very very effective, especially on named. I often see procs of 60 to 100 poison damage every 2 seconds on named enemies. That is a pretty big dps addition.

[Munkenmo]

Wrong.

I cleave, great cleave, and lay waste while plowing through masses of mobs and those attacks generate glances, I'm not standing still except during the instant moment when I cleave. Running at a mob and momentum swinging at it also generates glancing blow procs. THF and ITHF are very useful. I would take GTHF if I had room, and it has exactly the same value as any of its pre-reqs or PTHF - 10% glance damage.

Your experience very much differs from mine.

Ive been busy playing different builds (unarmed, animal and bow) since the enhancement pass. Is this a more recent change?

Even the wiki points out the need to be stationary.

Basic mechanics

One free glancing blow attack is made automatically against all enemies in a wide arc in front of your character on the first and fourth swing (if you have a fourth swing) of your attack sequence. You must be stationary. If you move while attacking, you don't get glancing blows.

[Cetus]

Your experience very much differs from mine.

Ive been busy playing different builds (unarmed, animal and bow) since the enhancement pass. Is this a more recent change?

Even the wiki points out the need to be stationary.

[/FONT][/COLOR]

What else do you want me to say, grab a weapon - cleave something, and observe the glance.

[Munkenmo]

What else do you want me to say, grab a weapon - cleave something, and observe the glance.

I would if I was restricted to cellphone net access till february

If you're right its going to change a lot of my builds though, for the better

[Osedox]

I can't imagine a time when you will ever run out of ki on this build. I have about 95 or 100 max ki and my yellow bar is always full. This is with running perma shadow veil and always using fists of iron.

The ninja poison is very very effective, especially on named. I often see procs of 60 to 100 poison damage every 2 seconds on named enemies. That is a pretty big dps addition.

Ok im sold on the original class split, between shadow veil and ninja poison it looks like having to sacrifice the twist slot for Bane of Undeath is worthwhile, and there is no other better option for offense or defense. Thank you everyone who answered my questions and of course thanks to Cetus, I can't wait to tr.

[Roland_D'Arabel]

... having to sacrifice the twist slot for Bane of Undeath ...

This too is unnecessary mostly. Swapping to Unyielding Sentinel and back into Dreadnought in a public space recharges your Divine Might without any need to keep it twisted. Unless you think you will need more charges in a single quest than you have in total, you never need to have Bane of Undeath twisted. Hope this makes sense.

[Osedox]

This too is unnecessary mostly. Swapping to Unyielding Sentinel and back into Dreadnought in a public space recharges your Divine Might without any need to keep it twisted. Unless you think you will need more charges in a single quest than you have in total, you never need to have Bane of Undeath twisted. Hope this makes sense.

Ah now I understand the notation Cetus made next to Bane of Undeath. Thanks again Roland, very helpful tips.

Just being honest here also its very unlikely that ill ever end up grinding enough destiny levels to have the full 4/2/1 twists because this will be an alt toon and im lazy so perhaps ill just skip Sense Weakness and do Bane of Undeath/Primal Scream/Dance of Flowers instead.

[Crann]

I have been playing with the enhancements and have observed something I haven't seen discussed here yet.

I have been going back and forth on the usefulness of Weapon Attachment, and had decided that for the one action point it costs you to take, it is worth it.

The thing I did not really pay attention to was the Communion of Handling enhancement. It required that Weapon Attachment is active. It also appears to provide a +5 racial seeker. The description lists it as a +2 racial seeker, which seemed pretty good to me.

Looking at a weapon equipped with that enhancement...while Weapon Attachment is active...it is showing a +5 bonus to racial seeker. Since it is listed as a racial modifier, one would think it would stack with all the other sources of seeker.

Has anyone else running this build noticed this, and has it changed your outlook on the usefulness of these two enhancements? I am of the opinion that the extra 5 seeker on a build which has such high crit multipliers might justify the action point expenditure as well as tolerating the hassle of working it into your scroll buffing rotations.

[Cetus]

I have been playing with the enhancements and have observed something I haven't seen discussed here yet.

I have been going back and forth on the usefulness of Weapon Attachment, and had decided that for the one action point it costs you to take, it is worth it.

The thing I did not really pay attention to was the Communion of Handling enhancement. It required that Weapon Attachment is active. It also appears to provide a +5 racial seeker. The description lists it as a +2 racial seeker, which seemed pretty good to me.

Looking at a weapon equipped with that enhancement...while Weapon Attachment is active...it is showing a +5 bonus to racial seeker. Since it is listed as a racial modifier, one would think it would stack with all the other sources of seeker.

Has anyone else running this build noticed this, and has it changed your outlook on the usefulness of these two enhancements? I am of the opinion that the extra 5 seeker on a build which has such high crit multipliers might justify the action point expenditure as well as tolerating the hassle of working it into your scroll buffing rotations.

I haven't noticed that, thanks for the tip - I'll check it out.

[Roland_D'Arabel]

Ah now I understand the notation Cetus made next to Bane of Undeath. Thanks again Roland, very helpful tips.

Just being honest here also its very unlikely that ill ever end up grinding enough destiny levels to have the full 4/2/1 twists because this will be an alt toon and im lazy so perhaps ill just skip Sense Weakness and do Bane of Undeath/Primal Scream/Dance of Flowers instead.

If you can swing a 3/2/1 twist, you could take Grim's Precision from Shadowdancer which gives 15% bypass to fortification. Quite handy to twist imo.

[Xianio]

I would if I was restricted to cellphone net access till february

If you're right its going to change a lot of my builds though, for the better

Cleave:

"The difference is that cleave counts a full attack, dealing full special effect damage to all targets hit, and also producing a glancing blow (if using an appropriate weapon that allows them)"

[Hawkwier]

Anyone have strong views on pros and cons of F12/P2/M6 vs F8/P6/M6 variants? I'm kinda leaning towards the latter and need to make the call soon when I hit L17...

Cheers

[painkiller3]

The +5 stacking racial seeker really adds to dps...I don't UMD tenser's (like Cetus does) so the extra seeker on the eSOS makes a big difference...will look into Ninja Poison

[NaturalHazard]

Anyone have strong views on pros and cons of F12/P2/M6 vs F8/P6/M6 variants? I'm kinda leaning towards the latter and need to make the call soon when I hit L17...

Cheers

why 6 pally? to free up a twist slot for something else? Power Surge is just awesome, you miss out on some feats too right? seems a bit of a waste 2-4 pally levels is all you really need.

[Choopak]

Anyone have strong views on pros and cons of F12/P2/M6 vs F8/P6/M6 variants? I'm kinda leaning towards the latter and need to make the call soon when I hit L17...

Cheers

Well pal6 is good for 2 things: easy and early access to divine might, AND bladesworn transformation...
I did a simulation of the build (F8/P6/M6) on character builder... pretty impressive

[Choopak]

Got my second ETR out of the way -- Overall, the loss of effective ranged damage was not terrible. There are a few quests that would have been easier with it, but none where it was absolutely required(well maybe EE Thrill of the Hunt). That being said I almost always am ina group -- If I was building the toon to solo content, I can't imagine not having the option to swap to a bow.

Biggest concern I have is being a bladeforged over fleshy. While the Recon SLA is good, and effective in 95%+ of situations.. there are times that lack of a meaningful (non-sp based) backup healing solution is painful (thinking of EE CitW). At the end of the day, for the few times that being a fleshy would have been advantageous, the bladeforged build is stronger in most content that I typically run.

Here is the current plan for my next 20-28 run with the build. I have decided to go with Weapon Attachment and only use Tenser's when really necessary. Primary reason for that is player laziness (I don't want to be reattaching my weapon all the time to cast Tenser’s). The extra damage from the Seeker and bonus to base damage more than makes up for the loss of 4 pts of str. Larger question will be is do I need to slot in Tactician to make up for my laziness or can I keep P-THF. Reflex saves are still lower than I would like, but I think I can live with them (just need to get better at dodging Ottolukes).

I do have level 21 and 25 gear swaps figured out as well if anyone is interested. As always feedback/suggestions are welcome.

Class Split: 12 Fighter / 6 Monk / 2 Pally
Race: Bladeforged

Abilities:
Str: 52/78-- (18 base + 5 tome +7 lvl +1 enh +1 GoTIB +10 Item +1 Profane +3 Insightful +2 ED +2 ship +2 Yugo/ + 2 Morale [Rage] +4 Alchemical [Tenser’s] +15 Insightful [Divine Might])
Dex: 24/28 -- (6 base + 5 tome + 9 item +1 GoTIB +1 profane +2 ship -2 stance +2 Yugo / + 4 Alchemical [Tenser’s])
Con: 40/46 -- (16 base +5 tome +1 enh +8 item +2 insight +1 GoTIB +1 profane +4 Stance +2 Ship / +2 Morale [Rage] +4 Alchemical [Tenser’s])
Int: 16 -- (8 base +4 tome +1 GoTIB +1 profane +2 ship)
Wis: 16 -- (7 base +5 tome +1 GoTIB +1 profane +2 ship)
Cha: 40 -- (17 base +5 tome +10 item +2 insight +1 GoTIB +1 profane +2 ship +2 Yugo)

Feats: Passive Past Life: Paladin x3, Fighter x3
ETR: Doublestrike x3
Base: WF: Slashing, Stunning Blow, Great Cleave, Improved Critical: Slashing, Greater Two-handed fighting, Master of Forms, Grandmaster of Forms, Overwhelming Critical, Epic Toughness, Epic PRR
Fighter: Cleave, Dodge, Weapon Specialization: Slashing, Improved Two-Handed Fighting, Greater WF: Slashing, Greater WS: Slashing
Monk: Power Attack, Two-handed Fighting, Fists of Light, Toughness
Destiny: Perfect Two-Handed Fighting or Tactician, Perfect Two-Weapon Fighting

Enhancements:
Paladin: Knight of the Chalice (7 ap): Hunter of the Dead (1), Extra Turning III (3), Extra Smite (1), Divine Might I (2)

Fighter: Kensai (35ap): Kensai Focus (1), Spiritual Bond (1), Strike with No Thought (1), Power Surge (1), Weapon Specialization IV (8), Action Boost: Haste III (3), Extra Action Boost III (6), Tactics III (6), Weapon Meditation (2), Shattering Strike (1), Deadly Strike (1), Keen Edge (1), One with the Blade (1), Str I (2)

Monk Ninja Spy (13 ap): Ninja Training (2), Shadow Veil (1), Sneak Attack Training I (2), Acrobatic II (2), Elemental Ki: Fist of Iron (2), Agility II (2), Sting of the Ninja (2)

Blade Forged (25 ap): Improved Fortification II (2), WF Con I (2), Repair Systems I (2), WF: Tactics III (3), Fearsome Presence (1), Power of the Forge (1), Communion of Scribing III (6), Weapon Attachment (1), Communion of Handling (1), Improved Power Attack III (6)

Core Stats:

Fortification: 190%
HP: 923 Standing / 1007 Boosted / 1055 Yugo – (188 levels +80 epic +406/532 con +25 heroic +10 draconic +45 False Life +15 auto grants +78 feats +50 LD / +48 Yugo)
Double Strike: 27% (8% Item + 5% Perfect TWF + 3% Draconic Ferocity +2% Kensi +9% Epic PL)
Stunning Blow DC: 74 /76 – (10 base + 32/34 Str +5 exc combat mastery +10 stunning +3 Kensi +3 WF +6 tactics +3 Ftr PL +2 Shaken)
Trip DC: 79 / 81 (Epic Blademark)
Repair Spell Power: 209 (138 Devotion + 30 Implement +38 heal skill)
Reconstruct SLA: 510 HP
Dodge: 19% - (8% Item + 6% Flurry + 2% Acrobatic +3% Feat)
PRR: 41 (15 Master Earth + 16 Augment +10 Epic PRR)
Miss Chance: 57%/73% = 20/50% Concealment (Blur/Displacement) * 25% Incorporeal * 27% dodge (Blitzing)
UMD: 42 -- (5 ranks +8 epic +14 Cha +1 tome +3 competence +2 luck +4 morale +1 profane +1 ship)

Saves:
Fort: 71/79 – (16 base +4 epic +16/18 con +4 morale +10 resistance +2 luck +1 competence +1 Ship +2 Aura of Good +15 Divine Grace / +2 Fire finisher +4 Power of the forge)
Ref: 57/65 – (9 base +4 epic +7/9 dex +4 morale +10 resistance +2 luck +1 competence +1 Ship +2 Agility +2 Aura of Good +15 Divine Grace / +2 fire finisher +4 Power of the forge)
Will: 59/65 – (9 base +4 epic +15 cha +4 morale +10 resistance +2 luck +1 competence +1 Ship +2 Aura of Good +15 Divine Grace -4 Yugo / +2 fire finisher +4 Power of the forge)

Epic Destiny – Legendary Dreadnought:
Legendary Tactics (3), Extra Action Boost (3), Momentum Swing (3), Improved Power Attack (2), Lay Waste (2), Attack Boost (1), Strength II (4), Advancing Blows (2), Devastating Critical (2), Masters Blitz (2)
Twists: Fury: Sense Weakness (4) or Meld to Darkness (3), US: Bane of Undeath (1), Grandmaster: Dance of Flowers (1)

Epic Destiny – Fury
Primal Scream (3), Tunnel Vision (1), Str II (4), Acute Instincts (3), Damage Reduction (3), Overwhelming Force (3), Sense Weakness (3), Fury Eternal (2), Unbridled Fury (2)
Twists: LD: Legendary Tactics (1), US: Bane of Undeath (1), Grandmaster: Dance of Flowers (1)


Gear:
Trinket: Litany (Eldrich Saves Ritual) / PLIS
Head: Black dragon +3 iStr, (Green: 250 SP, Yellow: GoTIB)
Neck: Deadly 10 / Verik’s mjm
Goggles: Charisma 10, Resistance 10
Bracers: Skirmishers (+9 Dex, +8 Double Strike)
Body: Black Dragon (Blue: Heavy Fort) / Epic Blademark Docent
Cloak: Cloak of the Wolf / RAD II 150 SP
Ring: EE Consuming Darkness (Green: 16 PRR)
Ring: Seal of Dun’Ro’Bar +2 iCon, Stunning 10
Boots: EE Goatskins Fortification 115% (Green: Good luck Colorless: +2 iCha)
Gloves: EE Backstabers (Yellow: Con 8)
Belt: Ogre Power 10 False Life 45
Weapons: eSoS (Colorless: +11 Repair, Red: Reconstruction 138),

First: thanks for the epic enhancements, most appreciated.
In gear section, what is GoTIB, in Black dragon +3 iStr, (Green: 250 SP, Yellow: GoTIB)? seems to be giving a +1 all stats... me want

[Jeromio]

First: thanks for the epic enhancements, most appreciated.
In gear section, what is GoTIB, in Black dragon +3 iStr, (Green: 250 SP, Yellow: GoTIB)? seems to be giving a +1 all stats... me want

That would most probably be Globe of True Imperial Blood: http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Globe_o...Imperial_Blood

[Choopak]

That would most probably be Globe of True Imperial Blood: http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Globe_o...Imperial_Blood

Haaaaa many thanks

[Orin2]

Hello, after coming back to the game just after the AP conversion, and playing around with a gimp build... or two, my guild leader(or guild officer at any rate) convinced me to build an uber toon for getting gear from EE content. And gave me the website adress for this forum. This really gimp toon I'm playing got 2 of the Raider boxes and being the impatent sort that i am, I just grabed TWO 'Tinah, Sword of the Sea' from them, to use when she got to level 23. She only has 1 fighter(soon to be 2) past lives and I will be epic tr'ing her and then Iconic heroic tr'ing her into the Cetus Bladeforged build.

I do not have much time to play, 1-2 hours/day and only Sunday off. On the up side I have no life and game when i can :P So grinding for an eSoS or Antique Axe will take some time.

My question is: Since I already have 2 of those longswords (Tinah) would going 2-Wep. fighting instead of 2-hand fighting work with this build as I have little time for grinding?

PLEESE NOTE!: When I do get an eSOS/Anteque Axe I will be switcing to 2-Hand. Fighting )

Sorry for the rambling post. You can blame Bosleysbacon on the Cannith server

EDIT: I put in the names of the swords i got and guess I should sum up what I rreally want to know

Will using 2-Hand. Fightin with 2 Tinah's: 2.5(1d10)/x2 crit:19-20 (base damage,mult,and crit) still be ubber enough for soloing, or at least kicking ass with friends in EE content?

[DrawingGuy]

I've been plugging away fighter lives to boost my Monk's Quivering Palm... and if the proposed QP nerf goes through, it will slap it to uselessness. So I've been thinking of going to a 6 Monk / 12 Fighter / 2 Pally that I've had planned since U19 beta, and decided to pass over what other people thought of. Your build fits pretty nicely into what I had, though I hadn't thought of hybriding into ranged. I have rarely found times where I wished I had a powerful range option; carrying a few appropriate shurikens for pillars/crystals/flying dragons for the small percentage of the time I need them has been enough. I do look forward to seeing a few of your videos to learn how having both generally helps (instead of the classic "oh I hit 40k in a Fury crit" SS).

I do, however, have some suggestions for your enhancements that I wonder if you tried (or could try). I personally love No Mercy as it is a major DPS boost on the targets you stun, and if you have a blue bar tossing mass holds, it's love. Luckily you can fit it with what I find acceptable tradeoffs: Dropping Bladeforged Improved Power Attack and Weapon Attachment frees up 7 points. Dropping one level of tactics from Kensei (because really this build can afford to) gives another two. By placing those 9 points into acrobatics, agility, ability stat, and a dump into subtlety or a point off agility/acrobatics to get an Elemental Ki strike - leaving 4 points for No Mercy (20% damage on helpless targets). Unfortunately it's not possible to get all 3 stacks without sacrificing Divine Might or Power of the Forge, which both are obviously superior to 10% helpless damage. But giving up 3 damage, negative 3 attack (a boon on a build you say already struggles with attack on bow), and weapon attachment that you have to fiddle with every time you use a scroll... I see the changes as nothing but a win.

Hopefully that helps you. Would also like your opinion of dodge feats vs ranged feats. I realize when you're blitzing the dodge is moot as it's current bugged and capped, but I could see it as a big survivability boost when running Fury. The remaining two feats would obviously go to GTH and whatever else floats your boat like Greater Specialization.