15 pally 3 monk 2 rogue (or arti) - drow or bladeforged?

[Makkuroi]

Hi, Ill try out new pally stuff after update and want to try a shortsword-using 15 pally 3 monk 2 trapper (maybe arti). Should I go bladeforged or drow? Shortswords for being centered and my TR cache. Im tending towards drow.

Also, the level split: I want trapskills and 3 levels of monk, 14 or 15 pally. Arti has more spellpoints and the doggie, rogue some sneak... 4 monk one trapper level would be ok to me, too, if there is a good reason for it.

bladeforged: start at lvl 15, WF immunities, recon, fortification

drow: more cha, far more dex, free shuriken option (also TR cache), shortswords as religious weapon

pally can also be level drain immune and recon isnt that important with a pally either... but starting at lvl 15 and a BF past life isnt bad either... really not sure.

Any hints and ideas before u23 goes live? still have to level from 26 to 28 before TRing but shouldnt take too long (just made epic completionist so im used to epic XP zerg)

[unbongwah]

In terms of survivability, BF wins hands down: WF immunities + Recon SLA + LoH = easy mode. Plus you get to skip the first 15 lvls to get to the "good stuff." The only downside is -2 DEX and you need DEX 17 for ITWF & GTWF; but if you've taken at least a +3 DEX tome before TRing, you can start DEX 14 and be fine.

BTW, if UMD or trap skills aren't that important, I would consider rgr 3 / monk 2 instead: extra feats and another +10% offhand from Tempest (combine w/Deft Strikes for 100%). It also would let you add Manyshot for a decent ranged option; don't forget Zen Archery as well to stay centered.

[Makkuroi]

I really want those trapskills, it helps in many quests, there is the new 30% trap xp bonus and I dont want to let my trapper gear rot in cache. WF is the easy mode but I think that a drow pally probably got enough survivability, healing amp from pally and shintao, fists of light, and pally immunities including level drain immunity at tier 5 KoTC... I also want to play heroic again after grinding to epic completionist.

For drow, shuriken is a better ranged option than manyshot imho, doesnt cost any feats, and the build is probably pretty feat-tight. Plus I already have a collection of shuriken in bank (well, I got pinion too but still no feats). Tomes are mainly +4, still need a +4 int one.

feats: 7 heroic + 2 monk + 3 epic

twf
itwf
gtwf
ICierce
PA
stunning blow

hmm... could even go IPS still... or master stances... or both.

[depositbox]

If you go BF and 2 rogue then staff build is way better with your set up than anything else you equip.

[Makkuroi]

holy sword doesnt stack with staff specialisation... what would I need pally for? Well... still self heals and so on - I might try staves at lower levels but then id have to go THF... no shortsword synergy anymore, too. Might as well go Qstaff bladeforged then. The problem is getting the gear, I still got a raiders box for sireth but no low lvl staves. I need more comments on this.

edit: I think that on a pally one should use weapons better than q-staves, even though some staves are quite good. Is Sireth better than dual celestias or swf celestia? and why?

[depositbox]

Depends on what you wanted. A pally past life? On your suggested split Sireth beats out anything. 15% Alacrity from 2 rogue levels, Lighting The Candle from 3 monk. Centered with Sireth in master stances. Free cleaves and slight light damage from KotC, bit of sneak attack all scaling with melee power. That and some smites. Bunch of staff clickable attacks. BF tree has synergy with THF. You can now move and get glances. 20% melee power with gthf.

[Makkuroi]

I was even considering 15 pally 5 rogue for tier 5 acrobat, but would miss out on 2 feats and being centered for dance of flowers... Will try out staff pally with 2 rogue levels and 3 monk levels, and try full acrobat during rogue or barb past life (shudder.. barb PL, no monk levels.. either going acrobat or swashbuckler there i think). Or go 14 pally 5 rogue 1 monk? That would make bladeforged even more interesting since I couldnt get level drain immunity from Kotc, but rule out shuriken use again... decisions, decisions... Probably keep drow Kotc with old split, ranged option helps more often than wings...

anyway, quarterstaves are probably a good investment for future TRs, can be carried by any class and stay centered... might ditch all shortswords except celestia from TR cache. I already farmed out a chieftains staff from TBC. Any other good low-lvl staves that might be interesting?

current idea:

15 pally 3 monk 2 rogue staff-centered THF KotC/acrobat/henshin/ninjaspy, str/cha based, with stunning blow, decent dex for shuriken option and reflex. 14 pally 3 monk 3 rogue also worth considering, for some more acrobat and +6 dex.

does sting of the ninja work on spears (sireth, chieftains spear)?

[Kriogen]

Thuergic Stave: 1.50 [2d4] + 4, 19-20/x2, Adamantine, Red and Purple slot. ML:8, Bound to Account.
19-20 crit range is base. With Staff spec it's like a mini Sword of Shadow. BtA, so usuable by all you chars and can be farmed by any of your alts. Not hard to get (tho very annoying)

Add undead beater and devil DR breaker (for Vale) and you are good to go until level 20. As Pally is good vs evil/undead/outsiders you may not even need this.

[depositbox]

I was even considering 15 pally 5 rogue for tier 5 acrobat, but would miss out on 2 feats and being centered for dance of flowers...
Tier 5 acrobat isn't needed and staff specialization does not stack with holy sword

Will try out staff pally with 2 rogue levels and 3 monk levels, and try full acrobat during rogue or barb past life (shudder.. barb PL, no monk levels.. either going acrobat or swashbuckler there i think). Or go 14 pally 5 rogue 1 monk? That would make bladeforged even more interesting since I couldnt get level drain immunity from Kotc.
Bladeforged are naturally immune to level drain

15 pally 3 monk 2 rogue staff-centered THF KotC/acrobat/henshin/ninjaspy, str/cha based, with stunning blow, decent dex for shuriken option and reflex. 14 pally 3 monk 3 rogue also worth considering, for some more acrobat and +6 dex.
Go str based do more dps instead of 3 points to reflex. Invest in defender stance from defender tree 25 prr and +3 to saves

does sting of the ninja work on spears (sireth, chieftains spear)?
No, it does not work with Sireth

Answers in red.

[Makkuroi]

tier 5 acrobat is interesting for the staff lunge, I know that the crits dont stack (otherwise it would be a no-brainer to take 5 levels of rogue or monk)

If you go bladeforged, tier 5 kotc becomes less interesting due to level drain immunity, for a drow, its more interesting. Since im probably sticking to drow ill go tier 5 kotc.

dex is for shuriken dps, i wrote that im going str/cha based for melee under "current idea". Still, its not that important since its just a ranged option, not main damage source.

a pity that sting doesnt work, but not that important for the build anyway.