Clever & Smart Agent - Pure Drow Harper Mechanic

[Jiirix]

Just finished a rogue life on a pure drow mechanic that was so much fun and power from level one/AP one (great crossbow proficiency) straight to level 28 that I am posting the “build” here. I write “build” in quotation marks because I didn’t really build that much and just went full mechanic and all the INT you can get from assassin and harper. Great synergies there because this uses INT for everything (damage mod, to hit mod, trap DC, main skill mod and gets you even more damage from know the angles) and all the enchantment trees used have bonuses to INT. Feats are a no-brainer anyway on a non-human build and you don’t have to choose skills, you just take them ALL. I took some of the trap stuff to try them and won’t swap it out again because they are fun and powerful even in EE quests. (Guess that is because “Improved Traps” boosts your elemental traps’ AND you magical traps’ DCs, at least the Wiki says so.)

This build works great without much gear and tomes. Only a +3 DEX tome (to qualify for combat archery) is needed, you can use the best great or repeating crossbow you can get your hands on and not much gear is needed for trapping as INT is the main stat anyway. I run in groups mostly and this is kind of a glass cannon approach as I didn’t invest much in defenses apart from high dodge and improved evasion. As a mechanic this toon does far more damage now than it did as an artificer before (007 build) and the damage does easier connect because I don’t have to fumble with the runearm anymore. What can I say? – It’s just clever and smart!



Fred Clever Drow Machanic Agent
Rogue 20
True Neutral Drow


Stats
. . . . . . . .32pt . . Tome . . Level Up
. . . . . . . .---- . . ---- . . --------
Strength. . . . .8. . . .+2. . . .4: INT
Dexterity . . . 18. . . .+3. . . .8: INT
Constitution. . 12. . . .+2. . . 12: INT
Intelligence. . 20. . . .+4. . . 16: INT
Wisdom. . . . . .8. . . .+2. . . 20: INT
Charisma. . . . 10. . . .+2. . . 24: INT
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28: INT

Skills
. . . . . 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
Disable . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Open Lo . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Search. . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Spot. . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Bluff . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Diplo . . 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 2. 3. 23
Balance . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Jump. . . . .1 . . 2. . .2 . . 3. 2. 2. 2. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Hide. . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Move Si . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Haggle. . 4. 1. . .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .2 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .23
UMD . . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Tumble. . 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. 2. 2. 2. 3. 3. 3. 2. 2. 21
Concent . 2. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 11
Heal. . . 2. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. ½. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . ½. 11
Perform . 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . .52 13 13 14 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 17 17 17 17 17


Feats

.1. . . . : Rapid Reload
.3. . . . : Point Blank Shot
.6. . . . : Rapid Shot
.9. . . . : Precise Shot
10 Rogue. : Improved Evasion
12. . . . : Improved Critical: Ranged
13 Rogue. : Slippery Mind
15. . . . : Improved Precise Shot
16 Rogue. : Opportunist
18. . . . : Precision
19 Rogue. : Skill Mastery
21 Epic . : Overwhelming Critical
24 Epic . : Combat Archery
26 Destiny: Epic Spell Power: Positive
27 Epic . : Improved Sneak Attack
28 Destiny: Doubleshot

Enhancements with points in Assassin (80 AP)

Mechanic (41 AP)

• Arbalester, Tanglefoot, Targeting Sights, Improved Detection, Expert Builder, Hip Flask
  
  1. Sharpshooter, Awareness III
  2. Sharpshooter, Improved Traps III, Wand and Scroll Mastery III
  3. Sharpshooter, Intelligence
  4. Sharpshooter, Fletching III, Leg Shot, Intelligence
  5. Sharpshooter, Rapid Fire III, Sniper, Mechanical Reloader

Harper Agent (12 AP)

• Agent of Good I, Intelligence
  
  1. Harper Enchantment, Strategic Combat
  2. Know the Angles III
  3. Intelligence

Assassin (27 AP)

• Knife in the Darkness, Dagger in the Back, Assassin's Trick
  
  1. Sneak Attack Training, Stealthy II
  2. Venomed Blades III, Sneak Attack Training, Damage Boost III
  3. Critical Mastery III, Sneak Attack Training, Intelligence
  4. Killer III, Intelligence

Destiny (24 AP)

Legendary Dreadnought (By far the best damage ED over time as Divine Crussader works best stationary and you want to be mobile to improve IPS damage and avoid melee mobs.)

1. Extra Action Boost III, Constitution
2. Damage Boost III, Constitution
3. Critical Damage III, Haste Boost III, Constitution
4. Constitution
5. Devastating Critical
6. Master's Blitz

Twists of Fate (only 8 Fate points yet as I played mostly in heroic levels on my artificer lives, I am sure there are better twists, but those work fine)

1. Unearthly Reactions (Tier 1 Magister, boosts ref save and let you tumble THROUGH mobs, very useful when cornered)
2. Rejuvenation Cocoon (Tier 1 Primal)
3. Pin (Tier 2 Primal)

[Jiirix]

Reserved for gear someday...

[Lorianus]

Verry similar to what I came up with. I spended a bit more AP on SA dices and the damageboost.

[Jiirix]

Verry similar to what I came up with. I spended a bit more AP on SA dices and the damageboost.

OK, more points in Assassin are a very solid option too - mainly becauce you get the damage boost eight times in LD.

[Hephaistor]

I like your pointy ears Fred Clever, but I think hardly anyone will get your "clever and smart" reference as they are called "Mort & Phil" in English and aren't very pupular outside of Europe. The original spanish titel was/is (Are there any new adventures of them?) "Mortadelo y Filemón".

About your build: I rolled a similar pure mechanic but went human for the bonus feat (same as yours + insightful refelxes). Having a blast and love it to get all the traps and secret doors ingame without breaking a sweat.

[Wipey]

Assassin's Trick is pretty big deal imho and makes a ton of difference for your whole party against certain critters.
Fast movement is too good to pass on a ranged toon too.

Not much else to say about auttattack super dps Blitzer heh.

[Jiirix]

Assassin's Trick is pretty big deal imho and makes a ton of difference for your whole party against certain critters.
Fast movement is too good to pass on a ranged toon too.

Not much else to say about auttattack super dps Blitzer heh.

I swapped a SA dice for Assasin's Trick as it is a nice bonus for the whole group but didn't take fast movement as I play nearly exclusively in groups and try not to kite at all. Thanks for the hint and yes, this is (just) an autoattack super dps blitz build with verry good traping and DC 80+ CC for some tactical fun. I really hope they don't change the magic traps DC in the future as it is a fun but not overpowerd feature imho. One had to prepare the traps at the workstation, drag them with you and place them at the right time - that's only worth the efford when those short term effects with limited uses come with a decent DC.

[Maatogaeoth]

Started playing this last night. TR partner wanted to play a PDK FvS, so I went with Shadar-Kai for the even more bonus sneak attack dice.

Turns out I'd burned all my greensteel stuff on alts and didn't feel like farming/buying more so I just picked up a great xbow with a red augment slot and crafted it w/ Holy of Pure Good. Stepped out in Gianthold and commenced the fun. Just using cheap bolts from the vendor in GH, I was hardly missing anything even on elite.

Can't wait to pick up a better crossbow and see what kind of pain it brings. Going to try to get the new level 15 one from U27. When I decide to give up on that, I'm planning on messing around in Eveningstar Challenges and see what I can craft out of there.

[Jiirix]

Get yourself a stack of "conjure bolts" and "flame arrow" scrolls. That's 1000 regular or 500 flaming bolts per cast

The eveningstar challenge X-Bows are fine and if you get an "aligned" one keep it for Mobs with DR/chaos,law, evil. The Cloak of the Wolf from the challenges is useful too, I upgraded mine to level 24 and use it when I don't want to drag aggro with the second bolt

[Bart_D]

I like your pointy ears Fred Clever, but I think hardly anyone will get your "clever and smart" reference as they are called "Mort & Phil" in English and aren't very pupular outside of Europe. The original spanish titel was/is (Are there any new adventures of them?) "Mortadelo y Filemón".

About your build: I rolled a similar pure mechanic but went human for the bonus feat (same as yours + insightful refelxes). Having a blast and love it to get all the traps and secret doors ingame without breaking a sweat.

This looks solid and straightforward. However I'd like to go human for extra feat (and appearance but fuggetaboudat) so how to qualify for Combat Archery? Dex+5 Tome?

Hm... How would halfling work?

[Jiirix]

This looks solid and straightforward. However I'd like to go human for extra feat (and appearance but fuggetaboudat) so how to qualify for Combat Archery? Dex+5 Tome?

Hm... How would halfling work?

Human is great for doulbe damage boosts and the extra feat but has a harder time to hit 21 dex, a +5 dex tome would be great for that. As a halfling I would go for the healing dragonmarks like this:

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...36#post5797836

[unbongwah]

However I'd like to go human for extra feat (and appearance but fuggetaboudat) so how to qualify for Combat Archery? Dex+5 Tome?

Best-case scenario: start base DEX 15 with +6 tome, either on a TR or one of the new-fangled Store tomes you can take early. You'll hit DEX 19 by lvl 15 for IPS and DEX 21 by lvl 23 for Imp Sneak Atk + Combat Archery.

Hm... How would halfling work?

Largely the same as drow, albeit with less STR & INT to start, of course. You could take the halfling DM to add some healing, but that requires dropping a feat or splashing for extra feats; and giving up APs in Assassin and/or Harper for Gtr DM.

[Jiirix]

Can anyone please tell me if this still works:

- Skill Bonus to magical trap DCs for awesome web traps that even work in "endgame"?
- Enchantment spell save stacking with regular resistance items?
- Deception and Improved Deception stacking to make Mobs spin without getting near me?
- Great Crossbow Vorpals kicking everything on it's back that isn't red or purple?
- Devotion item + heal skill + healing amp item = decent healing from cocoon?

[rekn2]

How is the blinding speed talent for this build?

[AbyssalMage]

Can anyone please tell me if this still works:

I will try...

- Skill Bonus to magical trap DCs for awesome web traps that even work in "endgame"?

Yes. Just remember if you are in a group, chances of you setting traps is negligible. Personally, I have found Traps better when working solo or another partner who compliments your play style.

- Enchantment spell save stacking with regular resistance items?

Only the higher of the two will work if they are the same type. Basically like everything else in the game.

- Deception and Improved Deception stacking to make Mobs spin without getting near me?

NPC's no longer spin I think it was to help with resources on SSG's end of things but not sure why they did this nerf. You still get your SA when the NPC is under the effects of the (Improved) Deception effect so still worth having because everyone will gain agro even when (actively) not trying.

- Great Crossbow Vorpals kicking everything on it's back that isn't red or purple?

Oh, yeah

- Devotion item + heal skill + healing amp item = decent healing from cocoon?

Yes.

[Gelroos76]

So how do you think gnome would work with this build? A guild mate is 41mech/24 assassin/8 thief /4harper . Just getting everyone’s thoughts before I tr

[unbongwah]

So how do you think gnome would work with this build?

Gnome is fine. Just remember you need DEX 21 for Improved Sneak Attack and Combat Archery epic feats, so plan accordingly based on your DEX tome.

A guild mate is 41mech/24 assassin/8 thief /4harper

I'm guessing they invested more into Acrobat than Harper for Haste Boost. I would prefer to take Know the Angles from Harper; Haste Boost can be grabbed from Dreadnought in epics.

Color Spray SLA is nice on any INT build, IMO, but it's 6-8 APs on an already AP-constrained build, so I dunno what to tell you to drop for it.

[LauraTheresa]

Greetings!

im rather newbie player, despite first time i played ddo was many years ago with several longer breaks

recently i started a drow rogue mechanic (following that build) and i got some questions about it, mostly about enhancements

- awareness: would it be better to take it in harper tree since rank 3 also gives +1 save vs traps (according to ddo wiki)?

- another thought is to include a bit from falconer tree: would 'practiced accuracy' stack with 'critical mastery' from assassin tree ?

- 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 ?

thanks in advance for help

[Discpsycho]

Welcome back!

1. You're correct - Harper's Awareness is strictly better than Mechanic's Awareness, except it's in the wrong tree. To move on to Core #2 or T2 enhancements you'll need at least 5 points in the tree. Core #1 and Sharpshooter are 3 of those 5, so the first two points of Awareness are filling that void. There are only two T3 enhancements and 41 points spent in the tree total, so I'd imagine the third Awareness rank is to flesh out the 20 point requirement for T4 enhancements

2. Most likely, but enhancement points are pretty tight for this build. Killer III and T4 Intelligence require 25 points in the tree, leaving 2 for Falconry, which would only get you the first rank of Practiced Accuracy. Also, Falconry didn't exist when this build was made

3. This build already slots all the "mandatory" ranged feats. You could pick up Rapid Shot for free, but then it's a question of whether your new feat slot is also better than the capstone's +2 Int and Dex, +2 damage, +2 SA dice and marginally useful action boost. For quality of life purposes I'm sure some feats are worthwhile, but I'm struggling to think of any feats that would let you cause more damage

For what it's worth, an Inquisitive is now a (slightly) better crossbow user than a rogue, though the two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive

[unbongwah]

This build stays pure for the Mechanic capstone. If you're willing to give it up, then you have a lot of options for splashing: fighter, Artificer, whatever. You should keep rogue 18 for Expert Builder.


Also this build predates Inquisitive and uses only great crossbows. Inquisitive opens a lot of build opportunities since your critical bonuses come from the Inquisitive tree not Mechanic.