Originally Posted by
LauraTheresa
- would it be a bad idea to go something like 18rog/2 ranger (for free rapid shot feat), or is the 3rd special ability and increased sneak attack and rogue capstone worth more ?
You're asking the right question. Whenever you multiclass*, that question is: "Is what I'm gaining worth more than what I'm losing?"
(* and when balancing AP, etc etc)
And a big part of that, one that a lot overlook, is "timing". For example, if you're going to go to 20 and TR asap, then level 19 and 20 won't have much of an influence*, so you really only care about the first 18 Levels of the build. Otoh, if going to 30 (or planning to do some Epic farming for a while), 19 and 20 are the most important, "finishing out" the build that will last for a while.
(* Typically, you go to 18, then bank XP to get to 20. This lets you join level 16-19 quests without hurting the party's XP bonus. Taking 19 limits you to level 17-19 quests. Once you have the XP for 20, you take 20, farm your 20 Tokens of the Twelve asap, and TR - done.)
Another part of Timing is leveling. For example: If you take 1 level of Barbarian early in this build (Level 2-3), for the +10% kiting speed (plus general faster travel in and out of quests), will that make leveling to 20 faster and more enjoyable than staying pure? Will that extra speed keep you alive while backing away from enemies, and do more than an earlier level of Rogue? That is, would the time and frustration you save during Level 3-20 be more than you'd save with a stronger end-Heroic/Epic build? (~I~ often find it does! But not all would agree - playstyles and priorities.)
Also, remember - DDO is not any edition of D&D you've seen or played before, so don't base your build off the expectations or "build wisdom" of any tabletop rules you've seen. The biggest diff - and it is a BIG one - is Enhancements. Choosing the right/wrong enhancements can have as much, or even more of an effect on a build than the right/wrong Feats.
In your example, shoe-horning in 2 levels of Ranger for 1 Feat is, in the end, a net loss. Yes, he gains a Feat - but he really doesn't need one more. And since that's an early Feat, Rogue 3 gets delayed, which means the Rogue Tier 3 enhancements do too - no thank you. Besides, if you did that... what additional Feat would you take?
(If he did need more Feats, Fighter 2 would pro'ly be a better roll, timing those 2 dips for later to get feats on exactly the levels you want them, like this:
Clever Drow Machanic Agent variation (for discussion/comparison purposes)
18/2 Rogue/Fighter
True Neutral Drow
Level Order
1. Rogue. . . . . .6. Rogue. . . . . 11. Fighter . . . .16. Rogue
2. Rogue. . . . . .7. Rogue. . . . . 12. Rogue. . . . . 17. Rogue
3. Rogue. . . . . .8. Rogue. . . . . 13. Rogue. . . . . 18. Rogue
4. Rogue. . . . . .9. Rogue. . . . . 14. Fighter . . . .19. Rogue
5. Rogue. . . . . 10. Rogue. . . . . 15. Rogue. . . . . 20. Rogue
Feats
.1. . . . : Rapid Reload
.3. . . . : Point Blank Shot
.6. . . . : Rapid Shot
.9. . . . : Precise Shot
11 Fighter: Improved Critical: Ranged
12. . . . : ____(tbd)____
14 Fighter: Improved Precise Shot
15. . . . : ____(tbd)____
18. . . . : Precision
...
10 Rogue. : Improved Evasion
15 Rogue. : Slippery Mind
18 Rogue. : Opportunist
You can see that both Improved Critical and IPS are bumped up earlier by 1 character level each, leaving those two Feat slots open. (You'd probably move Precision to 12 - that's a no-brainer, and, actually, a bigger improvement than getting those two feats 1 level earlier!)
Is +1 level earlier for each of those important feats plus Precision 6(!) levels earlier worth (slightly) delaying Rogue 12 and beyond? Depends how much you value those Feats vs. Rogue 12+, and what Feats you'd take in addition. In other words... ymmv.
Edit - If just going to 20 and TR'ing, I kinda like this build better, esp the earlier Precision. Add in... oh... maybe Dodge and either Mobility or Weapon Focus as the later feats, and/or Insightful Reflexes if your Int is significantly better than Dex @ 18. If going to 30, pro'ly not, the capstone is better, and taking some extra time during Heroics is worth the delay - as pointed out earlier, you already have all the feats you really need.
In fact, I'd do something like this:
.C-Dog's Drow Mechanic Agent variation Heroic only
18/1/1 Rogue/Barbarian/Fighter
True Neutral Drow
Level Order
1. Rogue. . . . . .6. Rogue. . . . . 11. Fighter . . . .16. Rogue
2. Barbarian . . . 7. Rogue . . . . .12. Rogue . . . . .17. Rogue
3. Rogue. . . . . .8. Rogue. . . . . 13. Rogue. . . . . 18. Rogue
4. Rogue. . . . . .9. Rogue. . . . . 14. Rogue. . . . . 19. Rogue
5. Rogue. . . . . 10. Rogue. . . . . 15. Rogue. . . . . 20. Rogue
Feats
.1. . . . : Rapid Reload
.3. . . . : Point Blank Shot
.6. . . . : Rapid Shot
.9. . . . : Precise Shot
11 Fighter: Improved Critical: Ranged
12. . . . : Precision
15. . . . : Improved Precise Shot
18. . . . : Insightful Reflexes
...
12 Rogue. : Improved Evasion
15 Rogue. : Slippery Mind
18 Rogue. : Opportunist
And I like it because of exactly what I was talking about - to me, gaining 1) early Barbarian speed plus 2) significantly earlier Precision (and Improved Crit) is worth the capstone and delaying Rogue/Core 18 to Character level 20 IF going only to 20. (and ~maybe~ even if not - I'd have to think about that one.)