"Strimtom's Acid Arrow", Maximum Bow DPS, F2P/new player Friendly

[Jasparion]

Nerf Warlocks more... Oh, wait. Wrong thread.

A fully decked out Warlock is going to do 1k to 2k damage per target easy. So too will a Barbarian, Paladin, Monk, Wizard, Sorc, etc.

[Soleran100]

This jives with what I can remember.

I took acid arrows, then Scion of earth or whatever its called (gives acid damage on attacks, including ranged, based on spellpower)

So we have the bas damage, acid arrow imbue damage, scion acid damage, and whatever else you got, such as shiridi sonic damage etc.

Per arrow: you've got 335 plus 335, plus about 250 or so base, so roughly about 1000-1250 per NON crit arrow.

add up all the alacrity you can get, blinding speed, givenors set, etc, plus the insane STANDING doubleshot, and that 1250 damage per arrow, with rediqoulous arrows per min, all while at distance from the target AND WE HAVENT EVEN MENTION CRITS, or sneak attack, or slayer arrow, or nerve venom, or twisting sense weakness. and the hits just keep on coming...

Scion of Arborea

+20 Melee and Ranged Power
+20 Force Spell Power and +20 Universal Spell Power
+2 to the Enhancement Bonus of your weapon
+4 to Fortitude Saves

vs

Scion of Earth


+4 to the DCs of Conjuration spells, +2 to the DCs of other spells
+20 PRR
+10 Acid Spell Power, +30 Universal Spell Power
Add 2d20 Acid damage to weapon and unarmed attacks (Scales with Spell Power)


Play the game you want to play obviously but if you are looking for DPS think Arborea and Manyshot and or anything else that boosts your first number damage, acid can be resisted/immune but your first number damage generally never is as an AA.

[Arctigis]

A fully decked out Warlock is going to do 1k to 2k damage per target easy. So too will a Barbarian, Paladin, Monk, Wizard, Sorc, etc.

With that?

What's the Warlock equivalent of Manyshot/10k/Haste boost?

[Mindos]

Of course now I'm wondering if Ethereal is more damage than Scion of Earth, but I think it's still better just because it's sneak vs a specific element.

It was bugged, might still be. I think the text desription mentions hide divided by 3 or something, when in reality it divides by 2 or something, so moar damge. Maybe they fixed it, I guess the question is, how high is you hide score, and do you have acid spellpower thats uber?

[Mindos]

Scion of Arborea

+20 Melee and Ranged Power
+20 Force Spell Power and +20 Universal Spell Power
+2 to the Enhancement Bonus of your weapon
+4 to Fortitude Saves

vs

Scion of Earth


+4 to the DCs of Conjuration spells, +2 to the DCs of other spells
+20 PRR
+10 Acid Spell Power, +30 Universal Spell Power
Add 2d20 Acid damage to weapon and unarmed attacks (Scales with Spell Power)


Play the game you want to play obviously but if you are looking for DPS think Arborea and Manyshot and or anything else that boosts your first number damage, acid can be resisted/immune but your first number damage generally never is as an AA.

I agree. and I don't! If acid is resisted, all bets are off, and its a waste. the enhancement bonus is nice, But RP on top of already high RP doesnt seem to have the same punch as scaling acid damage. fun things to do on lammania

ps/ I think the problem with Ranged builds is that most players seem to prefer melee. And when these melee pick up a bow, they see the SLOW plink.......plink. It's one thing to convice the masses that ranged damage can be SUPERDUPER, but that the RATE OF FIRE can be so much moar then just a fighter picking up a bow to hit a lever...

[Nightmanis]

It was bugged, might still be. I think the text desription mentions hide divided by 3 or something, when in reality it divides by 2 or something, so moar damge. Maybe they fixed it, I guess the question is, how high is you hide score, and do you have acid spellpower thats uber?

If it's actually dividing by 2, then in my calculations on the last page I showed a possible 170 hide. Just from that it's going to be 85 sneak damage, which with the RP I showed ends up being 288 per arrow.

So yeah, I'd rather have Ethereal over Scion of Earth. But that's also hitting some pretty uber hide scores along with some pretty uber Dex scores.

[unbongwah]

I think the forum consensus was Ethereal Plane was better sustained DPS than Plane of Earth if you've built for maxing out your SA dmg (i.e., max Hide score, Deception or other vulnerability procs, etc.). In particular, it would be a good option for a White Feather variant, since you've already got 6d6 SA from DWS and unlimited PBS range from Horizon Shot. If you've got a rogue PL, take the PL feat and combine the clickie with Zeal of the Righteous + Manyshot + Ranged Power boost for added oomph. Perma-Blur and Invisibility Guard are just freebie perks.

Whereas the advantages of Plane of Earth are the +20 PRR and not having to worry about sneak atks, since it's stacking on top of your acid arrows already.

OTOH, if you're building for burst DPS in FotW, I would probably favor Arborea just for the +20 Ranged Power to boost your Adrenalized Slaying Arrows & Sniper Shots further.

[Soleran100]

I agree. and I don't! If acid is resisted, all bets are off, and its a waste. the enhancement bonus is nice, But RP on top of already high RP doesnt seem to have the same punch as scaling acid damage. fun things to do on lammania

ps/ I think the problem with Ranged builds is that most players seem to prefer melee. And when these melee pick up a bow, they see the SLOW plink.......plink. It's one thing to convice the masses that ranged damage can be SUPERDUPER, but that the RATE OF FIRE can be so much moar then just a fighter picking up a bow to hit a lever...

Yeah I didn't take the max dps route either though going scion of feywild and paralying in reaper content. Nothing says win like para, pin, fury shot in reaper modes.

[Mithernil]

Hello everyone, I'm a returning player (minimum 8 years of DDO vacations) and so far I love this build, fits exactly my casual playstyle. Currently at lvl 7.
One thing though really confuses me and that is how the varies forms of spellpower interact or better how they interact towards this builds acid damage.
As an example, I have a ring with ca 45 corrosion, another wearable with 50 force spellpower and a third item with 55 some spellpower that raises my blue bar.
How much spellpower or which one specifically will help with the builds acid damage.
Sorry for the probably, noob question, but I simply don't get it yet.

Many thx in advance!

[unbongwah]

One thing though really confuses me and that is how the varies forms of spellpower interact or better how they interact towards this builds acid damage.
As an example, I have a ring with ca 45 corrosion, another wearable with 50 force spellpower and a third item with 55 some spellpower that raises my blue bar.

http://ddowiki.com/page/Spellpower

When it comes to AA imbues:

• Metamagics do not apply.
• Same-type bonuses don't stack; different-type bonuses do. [This is true for just about everything.] So don't bother equipping two different items with equipment bonuses to Corrosion; equip one with an equipment bonus and another with an Insightful bonus.
• Mouse over the icon next to your Spell Points on the character sheet to see your Spellpower totals.

[LrdSlvrhnd]

Hello everyone, I'm a returning player (minimum 8 years of DDO vacations) and so far I love this build, fits exactly my casual playstyle. Currently at lvl 7.
One thing though really confuses me and that is how the varies forms of spellpower interact or better how they interact towards this builds acid damage.
As an example, I have a ring with ca 45 corrosion, another wearable with 50 force spellpower and a third item with 55 some spellpower that raises my blue bar.
How much spellpower or which one specifically will help with the builds acid damage.
Sorry for the probably, noob question, but I simply don't get it yet.

Many thx in advance!

The third item sounds like it's a spell POINT item, not a spell POWER item, although it's possible that it includes both. Unless you find yourself constantly buffing & rebuffing, I find spellpoints to be less useful than other items. I mean, if you have nothing else for that slot, by all means use it, but if you find something else/better consider switching. *g* The Force spellpower will do nothing for your acid imbue, but if you have Force Arrows (which you really should, both for the Ghost Touch and for acid-immune/resistant/healing mobs) you want to keep the second item as at least a swap item for when you do switch to Force.

The two effects you want to be looking for to pump your acid imbues are Corrosion (boosts just your acid spellpower) and Potency (boosts all spellpowers). They do NOT stack, and 98% of the time a Corrosion item is going to be more effective than a Potency item of the same level (I mean, it's possible to find a Corrosion item that rolled 'badly' and is on the very low end of the range and a Potency item that rolled supremely well and is both on the 'high' end of the range and has Masterful Craftsmanship, but... unlikely).

You might also wish to look into Spellsight items, which boosts the Spellcraft skill, which will in turn boost both your Acid and your Force spellpower. This effect is lower than Corrosion, but it does stack since it's a different effect, so it's worth having both.

As Unbongwah said, mouse over the little purple icon next to your Spell Points listing on your Character Sheet to see your various spellpower totals. The ones you're looking for are, in order, Corrosion (for Acid Arrows); Force (for when you have to switch to Force Arrows for whatever reason - but keeping it as a swap item is fine - look into two items for the same slot with Corrosion & Impulse so you're directly alternating between the two and not losing something else); and, to a lesser extent, Positive (for when you're tossing out your Cures).

[BandVP]

great build, i look foward to doing it

[CSQ]

I've been running a force based (especially useful for Reaper) AA/DS build and haven't been following this guide faithfully, but found something relevant.

Ram's Might is very useful at low level, since it gives you +2 to strength and +2 size to damage, but I've noticed that it seems to default my damage to strength, meaning if my dexterity bonus is more than three higher than my strength bonus, it decreases my damage instead of giving +2 from size and ignoring my lower strength. I've only noticed this in the damage tool tip and not in thorough testing, but it's worth consideration in the build.

Another, less major contribution: Artificer past lives and UMD boosts can be very helpful for utility in groups with raise scrolls and stuff, especially in Reaper (which is new since this guide).

[LrdSlvrhnd]

Ram's Might is very useful at low level, since it gives you +2 to strength and +2 size to damage, but I've noticed that it seems to default my damage to strength, meaning if my dexterity bonus is more than three higher than my strength bonus, it decreases my damage instead of giving +2 from size and ignoring my lower strength. I've only noticed this in the damage tool tip and not in thorough testing, but it's worth consideration in the build.

I just checked on my ranger, and Ram's Might increased my damage by +2, from +84 to +86 (going by the Details tab in the Inventory). My bow also retains "Attack Mod: DEX" and "Damage Mod: DEX" when I hover over it. I'm at cap with 30 (+10) STR (raised to 32/+11) and 62 (+26) DEX. So I'm not sure what's going on, but it's definitely working correctly for me.

[Sarzor]

I've been running a force based (especially useful for Reaper) AA/DS build and haven't been following this guide faithfully, but found something relevant.

Ram's Might is very useful at low level, since it gives you +2 to strength and +2 size to damage, but I've noticed that it seems to default my damage to strength, meaning if my dexterity bonus is more than three higher than my strength bonus, it decreases my damage instead of giving +2 from size and ignoring my lower strength. I've only noticed this in the damage tool tip and not in thorough testing, but it's worth consideration in the build.

Another, less major contribution: Artificer past lives and UMD boosts can be very helpful for utility in groups with raise scrolls and stuff, especially in Reaper (which is new since this guide).

I've been running a ranger based around this build and a few noticeable changes for those running reaper I found helpful:
- I spent points into AA first, got the first tier force arrows (for ghost touch) and grabbed an impulse item.
- I actually picked up two tiers of elemental arrows on top of force arrows before getting improved finesse. This means your arrows actually do reasonable force damage in reaper. If your to-hit is too low, you can get finesse first, however I found the difference between 0-2 force damage, and 10-12 to be quite important in reaper. I guess with a lower to-hit you'd come out ahead with more hitting
- I still did acid arrows outside of reaper
- Kite. OMG, kite in reaper. This build is not built to take big hits, especially from carnage reapers.
- Get a shield clickie/scroll. The reaper magic missiles will mess you up.
- I didn't have the problem you're describing with Ram's might, so dunno about that

All in all, it's a fun build in reaper, but as with many, it benefits greatly from having a party to keep all the mobs off you. With the new aggro, when you shoot something from across a dungeon, the whole dungeon comes for you. And in the newer dungeons, that's 30+ mobs, which in reaper this build can't support the damage for.

[Broughden]

Hi! Im a returning player and decided to go with this build for my ranger. I had a few questions and a comment I was hoping to get some feedback on?

1. What items or slots with what prefixes and suffixes should I be keeping an eye out for in the auction house? I know Im need acid spell power and generic spell power, but in which slots and in which case is the corrosion enchantment better than the potency enchantment?

2. Cannith Crafting. What items in which slots should I be making for myself?

3. The build itself. Strimtom suggests 3 points be taken in dispelling shot. Wouldnt it be better from a DPS perspective to put 1 or 2 of those points into the Tier 5 Elemental shot? Or is having 3 point dispelling shot that important in game right now?

[unbongwah]

3. The build itself. Strimtom suggests 3 points be taken in dispelling shot. Wouldnt it be better from a DPS perspective to put 1 or 2 of those points into the Tier 5 Elemental shot? Or is having 3 point dispelling shot that important in game right now?

You're only allowed to take the tier-5 abilities from one tree. Strimtom chooses DWS's (in large part for the extra Doubleshot), which means you have to spend a lot of APs on filler in AA to get the capstone. What you spend those APs on is up to you.

[Broughden]

You're only allowed to take the tier-5 abilities from one tree. Strimtom chooses DWS's (in large part for the extra Doubleshot), which means you have to spend a lot of APs on filler in AA to get the capstone. What you spend those APs on is up to you.

Ahhhh I did not know that! That makes sense then.


So any equipment/crafting tips?

[LrdSlvrhnd]

Hi! Im a returning player and decided to go with this build for my ranger. I had a few questions and a comment I was hoping to get some feedback on?

1. What items or slots with what prefixes and suffixes should I be keeping an eye out for in the auction house? I know Im need acid spell power and generic spell power, but in which slots and in which case is the corrosion enchantment better than the potency enchantment?

2. Cannith Crafting. What items in which slots should I be making for myself?

3. The build itself. Strimtom suggests 3 points be taken in dispelling shot. Wouldnt it be better from a DPS perspective to put 1 or 2 of those points into the Tier 5 Elemental shot? Or is having 3 point dispelling shot that important in game right now?

3) I actually removed Dispelling Shot entirely - it has the nasty side effect of dispelling FRIENDLY spells as well, so I kept clearing DoTs and such, which was not good running reaper. I went for the DWS capstone, not sure what I put those points into but I'm pretty sure it was just random stuff. Might've boosted the T1 Wild Empathy for the Devotion, maybe.

1) & 2) are largely the same; CC is generally going to be stronger, and you'll be able to consolidate more ideally. My gear loadout (almost all CC) is:

Helm: Prefix: Fortification*, Suffix: Spellsight, Extra: INS Fortification Augment: Topaz of Water Breathing
Goggle: Prefix: Wisdom, Suffix: True Sight, Extra: INS Wisdom Augment: Topaz of Blindness Immunity
Necklace: Prefix: Constitution, Suffix: False Life, Extra: INS Constitution Augment: Sapphire of Good Luck
Cloak: Prefix: Intelligence, Suffix: Natural Armor, Extra: INS Intelligence Augment: Topaz of Feather Falling
Glove: Prefix: Strength, Suffix: Deadly, Extra: INS Corrosion Augment: (Diamond) Master's Gift
Belt: Prefix: Doubleshot, Suffix: Deathblock, Extra: INS Dodge Bonus Augment: Sapphire of Resistance
Boot: Prefix: Seeker, Suffix: Sheltering**, Extra: INS Dexterity Augment: Topaz of Striding
Ring 1: Prefix: Wizardry, Suffix: Dexterity, Extra: INS Physical Sheltering Augment: Topaz of Fear Immunity
Ring 2a: Prefix: Spell Resistance, Suffix: Corrosion, ? Extra: INS Magical Sheltering Augment: Sapphire of Protection
Ring 2b: Prefix: Spell Resistance, Suffix: Impulse, Extra: INS Magical Sheltering Augment: Sapphire of Protection
Trinket: Prefix: Ranged Alacrity, Suffix: Dodge Bonus, Extra: INS Spellsight
Armor: Prefix: Vitality, Suffix: Healing Amplification, Extra: Parrying Augment: Sapphire of Fortification

In heroics, I did Sheltering instead of Fort on the helm, and the best speed/striding boots I could find. The two Ring 2s are swap items. Bracers are either Bracers of Wind, GS Smoke, or Bracers of Twisting Shade.

I switched out the first ring for a Ring of Prowess when I got one, which necessitated playing around with the gear, but not sure exactly what I did. And then later Shadowscale Armor, which ditto. My current layout at cap is:

Helm: Wizardry/Spellsight/Ins. MRR
Goggles: WIS/TS/Ins. WIS (no change)
Neck: CON/FL/Ins. CON (no change)
Cloak: INT/NA/Ins. INT (no change)
Bracers: Protection/Ins. PRR/Ins. STR (...though STR isn't really important to this build, so I may not have actually crafted the insightful portion) - with Master's Gift
Gloves: Corrosion/Hamp/Ins. Corrosion (and an Impulse swap version)
Belt: Doubleshot/Ins. SR/Ins. Dodge
Boots: Seeker/STR/Insi. Fort
Ring 1: Legendary Ring of Prowess
Ring 2: SR/DEX/Ins. DEX
Trinket: Dodge/Armor Piercing/Insightful Seeker
Armor: Leathers of the Celestial Archer

[Broughden]

stuff

1. How much spellpower is that bringing you to?

2. Right now Ive got Boots of Propulsion on my toon. I have read some to say that Rock boots are the best for this build due to the acid dmg buff? True? I would assume this would also apply to the Boots of Corrosion or their epic version?