Build Request: TWF Scimitar wielder

[synergy12]

Hey guys,

I just got back into the game, and am not quite sure what is considered good anymore. So I was just looking for some advice on a character. I have always preferred TWF, and scimitars have always been my main weapon.

Obviously this makes Tempest a good choice. But should I go straight 20 ranger, or do something like 12 ranger/8 fighter for feats and Kensai? I was even toying with the idea of doing 12 ranger/8 rogue for some nice backstab damage but I am still pondering that.

Any possible advice would be good. All I know is I want to use 2 scimitars and kill everything

[unbongwah]

Right now I think the strongest TWF builds are pally-based for Holy Sword: either pure pally or rgr 5 / pal 15. See my drow paladin thread.

You could also do pure barb, either for flavor or to knock out a heroic PL; Ravager T5 provides nice DPS bonuses as well as free self-healing from Blood Strength.

EDIT: my Tempest Warpriest is still a viable & self-sufficient build, but its DPS suffers compared to other classes.

[synergy12]

Right now I think the strongest TWF builds are pally-based for Holy Sword: either pure pally or rgr 5 / pal 15. See my drow paladin thread.

You could also do pure barb, either for flavor or to knock out a heroic PL; Ravager T5 provides nice DPS bonuses as well as free self-healing from Blood Strength.

EDIT: my Tempest Warpriest is still a viable & self-sufficient build, but its DPS suffers compared to other classes.

Thank you for the reply!

So, Pally is the best DPS right now then? That's interesting. Is Ranger even competitive right now or no? Because Tempest seems like it gets a lot of bonuses but I probably am reading it better than it actually is. I really love Rangers but I don't want to be useless in a group

As for the Barbarian, I think I will be making that as an alt. THF though not TWF

[psykopeta]

Thank you for the reply!

So, Pally is the best DPS right now then? That's interesting. Is Ranger even competitive right now or no? Because Tempest seems like it gets a lot of bonuses but I probably am reading it better than it actually is. I really love Rangers but I don't want to be useless in a group

As for the Barbarian, I think I will be making that as an alt. THF though not TWF

right now, unless u want to solo EE, whatever you think sounds good, it actually does good, just need a bit of focusing in certain aspect and planning the route

depending the pl you want, you can aim to 12 lvls of it, ranger isn't a bad idea, ofc isn't the top dps, that's because it hasn't been revamped recently ( my 3 last lives are bard ones, i mean i've done 36 lives, and well... i'm regretting the fact that i've to do a revamped class, they're simply overpowered, they don't fit in the current game, they make it WAY TOO EASY)

so, if you want pally pl, you could go 15 pally and 5 ranger, and could be able to grab tier 5 from tempest (also holy sword, one of the things that makes pally a broken toon, by broken i mean it's outside the spectre of ddo's classes)

whatever you do, if want to have an easier gameplay, get heavy armor, don't worry if you lose evasion, with a bit of twitching that heavy armor will be like permanent 50% damage on spells and physical damage

if you want ranger dual wielding scimitars, should think about taking drow, and i wouldn't go dexterity + evade, not yet til they compensate rest of stuff, the only class that shouldn't be using heavy armor are monks, rest should use heavy armor, always

[synergy12]

right now, unless u want to solo EE, whatever you think sounds good, it actually does good, just need a bit of focusing in certain aspect and planning the route

depending the pl you want, you can aim to 12 lvls of it, ranger isn't a bad idea, ofc isn't the top dps, that's because it hasn't been revamped recently ( my 3 last lives are bard ones, i mean i've done 36 lives, and well... i'm regretting the fact that i've to do a revamped class, they're simply overpowered, they don't fit in the current game, they make it WAY TOO EASY)

so, if you want pally pl, you could go 15 pally and 5 ranger, and could be able to grab tier 5 from tempest (also holy sword, one of the things that makes pally a broken toon, by broken i mean it's outside the spectre of ddo's classes)

whatever you do, if want to have an easier gameplay, get heavy armor, don't worry if you lose evasion, with a bit of twitching that heavy armor will be like permanent 50% damage on spells and physical damage

if you want ranger dual wielding scimitars, should think about taking drow, and i wouldn't go dexterity + evade, not yet til they compensate rest of stuff, the only class that shouldn't be using heavy armor are monks, rest should use heavy armor, always

So what you're saying is that if I went 15 Pally/5 Ranger, I should focus on Strength instead of Dexterity? How come? Tempest lets you use dexterity for damage and to-hit chance so I figured the higher AC would be good

[Sharktopus]

So what you're saying is that if I went 15 Pally/5 Ranger, I should focus on Strength instead of Dexterity? How come? Tempest lets you use dexterity for damage and to-hit chance so I figured the higher AC would be good

Paladins get divine might, Rangers get Rams might. Both of which boost str. Paladins also get divine favor which adds +3 damage on that build, but thats beside the point.


You will get more defenses on a tempest with heavy armor right now, as that is the state of the game. AC (once again, still?) isn't very important. Heavy armor has been reworked to soak damage, via PRR/MRR. Between sacred defender, tempest, and harmor, you will have so much PRR it won't matter if you're getting hit or not.

Secondly, str based doesn't restrict you to light weapons. You can go bswords, khops, picks, whatever. A heavy armor, heavy pick twf 15pal/5 ranger with some holy sword going is going to be pretty nasty damage.

Edits:
Just make sure you hit around 17 dex for str based, so you can take your twf line.

If you do want to go dex based, remember that 5 ranger won't have evasion, so even with good reflexes, you'd probably be taking more damage most of the time than you would from having PRR/MRR

Paladin offers some good saves, immunities, curative spells, and some decent feats/enhancements for offense and defense.

Having said that, I like your 12 ranger/8 kensei Idea. I have a similar variant that is 6 ranger/6 monk/8 kensei.

Top tier kensei lets you remain centered with your focus weapon. Ninja training II lets you use your dex mod for hit/damage on any slashing/piercing melee weapon are are centered with. This includes everything from rapiers to great axes. My guy uses heavy blades, khopeshes mainly. You could do this with as little as 3 levels of monk, 8 fighter, and 9 ranger or however you want to do it.

Right now, mechanics wise. you're either going to want to be centered with robes/evasion, or heavy armor. I play both styles and still prefer improved/evasion + quickened healing + healing amp.

[synergy12]

Paladins get divine might, Rangers get Rams might. Both of which boost str. Paladins also get divine favor which adds +3 damage on that build, but thats beside the point.


You will get more defenses on a tempest with heavy armor right now, as that is the state of the game. AC (once again, still?) isn't very important. Heavy armor has been reworked to soak damage, via PRR/MRR. Between sacred defender, tempest, and harmor, you will have so much PRR it won't matter if you're getting hit or not.

Secondly, str based doesn't restrict you to light weapons. You can go bswords, khops, picks, whatever. A heavy armor, heavy pick twf 15pal/5 ranger with some holy sword going is going to be pretty nasty damage.

Edits:
Just make sure you hit around 17 dex for str based, so you can take your twf line.

If you do want to go dex based, remember that 5 ranger won't have evasion, so even with good reflexes, you'd probably be taking more damage most of the time than you would from having PRR/MRR

Paladin offers some good saves, immunities, curative spells, and some decent feats/enhancements for offense and defense.

Having said that, I like your 12 ranger/8 kensei Idea. I have a similar variant that is 6 ranger/6 monk/8 kensei.

Top tier kensei lets you remain centered with your focus weapon. Ninja training II lets you use your dex mod for hit/damage on any slashing/piercing melee weapon are are centered with. This includes everything from rapiers to great axes. My guy uses heavy blades, khopeshes mainly. You could do this with as little as 3 levels of monk, 8 fighter, and 9 ranger or however you want to do it.

Right now, mechanics wise. you're either going to want to be centered with robes/evasion, or heavy armor. I play both styles and still prefer improved/evasion + quickened healing + healing amp.

That sounds really interesting. Why exactly did you pick 6 Ranger/6 Monk/8 Kensei?

And I assume your character would have as high a Dex/Wisdom as possible and wear no armour?

[Buffyanne]

Try a 14 Paladin/6 Ranger Elf. Elf for bonus with scimitars and displacement dragonmark. Being displaced in heavy armor is a wonderful thing you will shrug off most punishment. You will also have excellent ranged capabilities. Go up to tier 5 in Tempest for Dance of Death then take however much KotC and SD you want with left over points. I take enough to get the greater defensive stance for 20% more HPs and enough Kotc for exalted smites. Feats I went...dragonmark, power attack, PBS, ic slash, gtwf, IPS, empower healing. Happy killing.

[Bill_Jones]

GAME STATE
My first toon was 18ranger/1fighter/1rogue, a f2p "exploiter" build wearing robes/outfits. Meaningful Armor Class (AC) meant Chattering Ring and, in short, things I didn't care to grind out. With the addition of PRR/MRR to the game, that's changed.

Heavy armor is very good for melees. Understandably, monks still wear outfits. Regretfully, rangers & rogues lose evasion when wearing more than robes/outfits/light armor. Evasion still has a place in the game, and I love it, but heavy armor is an easy way to stay alive longer.

STR vs DEX
I've never played a DEX based toon. From what I see, there are many, many ways to boost STR, but not many for DEX. As SHARKTOPUS said, Ram's Might is +2 to STR. Divine Might adds to STR. Rage and Primal Scream add to STR. But, see Unbongwah's Elven Ranger (Shadow Stalker) for a DEX based ranged build, because Dragonmarks are cool.

BUILDS
The Tempest Trapmonkey link in my sig is a good F2P build by EllisDee. Good dps, survivability, trap skills and some self-healing. It uses light armor, however. Lately, I've been finding some heavy armor would be more ideal for soloing this build, but in groups it can hold it's own, and with good gear it can excel.

SUMMARY
Brass tacks, if you want to play a DEX based TWF elf pure Ranger, go for it. If you want a STR based TWF elf with a multiclass, do it, just check the wiki to see what level X of the class would give.