THF Kensei for New Players (U33)

[unbongwah]

EDIT (04/12/20): I've updated this build based on the U45 combat changes. Strikethrough + higher damage modifier means taking the THF feats ASAP is important. Also I bumped up base DEX so we can grab Precision early on and add Spring Attack later, which is somewhat more useful than it was, at least to a build which otherwise doesn't get any charge attack. Stand Fast (level 12 Stalwart Defender) now provides fear & knockdown immunity.

THF F2P Kensei (U45)
Fighter 20
True Neutral Human


Stats
               28pt     Level Up
               ----     --------
Strength        17       4: STR
Dexterity       13       8: STR
Constitution    16      12: STR
Intelligence     8      16: STR
Wisdom           8      20: STR
Charisma         8      24: STR
                        28: STR

Skills
          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
         ------------------------------------------------------------
Intim     2  2     2     2     2     2     2     2     2     2     2  22
UMD       2     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     11
Tumble    1                                                            1
         ------------------------------------------------------------
          8  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  2


Feats

 1        : Power Attack
 1 Human  : Cleave
 1 Fighter: Two Handed Fighting
 2 Fighter: Precision
 3        : Least Dragonmark: Passage
 4 Fighter: Great Cleave
 6        : Weapon Focus: Slashing
 6 Fighter: Improved Two Handed Fighting
 8 Fighter: Improved Critical: Slashing
 9        : Weapon Specialization: Slashing
10 Fighter: Stunning Blow
12        : Greater Weapon Focus: Slashing
12 Fighter: Greater Two Handed Fighting
14 Fighter: Heavy Armor Champion
15        : Dodge
16 Fighter: Tactical Supremacy
18        : Mobility
18 Fighter: Spring Attack
20 Fighter: Tactical Mastery OR Heavy Armor Master OR Greater Weapon Specialization: Slashing
21 Epic   : Overwhelming Critical
24 Epic   : Bulwark of Defense
26 Destiny: Perfect Two Handed Fighting
27 Epic   : Epic Damage Reduction
28 Destiny: Perfect Two Weapon Fighting
29 Destiny: Dire Charge
30 Epic   : Epic Fortitude OR Blinding Speed
30 Legend : Scion of: Arborea


Enhancements (80 AP)

Kensei (41 AP)
Kensei Focus: Heavy Blades, Spiritual Bond, Strike With No Thought, Power Surge, One Cut, Alacrity
Extra Action Boost III, Weapon Group Specialization: Heavy Blades, Action Boost: Haste Boost III
Weapon Group Specialization: Heavy Blades, Ascetic Training: Conditioning III
Weapon Group Specialization: Heavy Blades, Shattering Strike: Shattering Strike I, Strength
Opportunity Attack, Weapon Group Specialization: Heavy Blades, Liquid Courage, Strike at the Heart, Strength
A Good Death: Melee, Weapon Master, One With The Blade, Deadly Strike: Deadly Strike, Keen Edge

Stalwart Defender (27 AP)
Toughness, Stalwart Defense, Overbalance, Stand Fast
Item Defense III, Improved Stalwart Defense: Durable Defense III
Improved Stalwart Defense: Resilient Defense III, Instinctive Defense III
Greater Stalwart Defense: Strong Defense III, Strength
Swift Defense, Greater Stalwart Defense: Hardy Defense III, Strength

Human (12 AP)
Damage Boost
Dragonmark Focus: Orien II, Improved Recovery
Lesser Dragonmark: Dimension Door, Great Weapon Aptitude III
Improved Recovery

Leveling Guide
Ken0 Kensei Focus: Heavy Blades; Ken1 Action Boost: Haste Boost I, II, III
Ken1 Weapon Group Specialization: Heavy Blades; SD0 Toughness; SD1 Item Defense I
SD1 Improved Stalwart Defense: Durable Defense I, II, III; SD0 Stalwart Defense
Ken0 Spiritual Bond; Hum0 Damage Boost; Hum1 Improved Recovery
Ken1 Extra Action Boost I, II
Ken0 Strike With No Thought; Ken2 Ascetic Training: Conditioning I; Hum1 Dragonmark Focus: Orien I, II
Hum2 Lesser Dragonmark: Dimension Door; Ken1 Extra Action Boost III
Ken2 Weapon Group Specialization: Heavy Blades; Ken3 Strength
Ken3 Weapon Group Specialization: Heavy Blades; Ken4 Opportunity Attack
Ken4 Weapon Group Specialization: Heavy Blades; Ken4 Strike at the Heart
Ken4 Liquid Courage; Ken3 Shattering Strike: Shattering Strike I; (Bank 2 AP)
Ken0 Power Surge; Ken5 One With The Blade; Ken5 Keen Edge; Ken5 Weapon Master; Ken5 A Good Death: Melee; Ken5 Deadly Strike: Deadly Strike
Hum2 Great Weapon Aptitude I, II, III; SD2 Improved Stalwart Defense: Resilient Defense I
SD2 Improved Stalwart Defense: Resilient Defense II, III; SD2 Instinctive Defense I; SD3 Greater Stalwart Defense: Tenacious Defense I
SD3 Greater Stalwart Defense: Tenacious Defense II, III; Hum3 Improved Recovery
SD3 Strength; SD2 Instinctive Defense II, III
SD1 Item Defense II, III; SD0 Overbalance; SD0 Stand Fast
Ken0 One Cut; SD4 Swift Defense; SD4 Strength
SD4 Greater Stalwart Defense: Strong Defense I, II, III; Ken2 Ascetic Training: Conditioning II
Ken4 Strength; Ken2 Ascetic Training: Conditioning III; Ken0 Alacrity
Reset Stalwart Defender
Stalwart Defender: Toughness, Stalwart Defense, Overbalance, Stand Fast
Item Defense III, Improved Stalwart Defense: Durable Defense III
Improved Stalwart Defense: Resilient Defense III, Instinctive Defense III
Greater Stalwart Defense: Strong Defense III, Strength
Swift Defense, Greater Stalwart Defense: Hardy Defense III, Strength



Destiny (24 AP)

Legendary Dreadnought
Legendary Tactics III, Extra Action Boost III
Momentum Swing III, Imp. Power Attack, Damage Boost III
Lay Waste
Volcano's Edge
Advancing Blows, Devastating Critical
Master's Blitz

Specced for Heavy Blades (falchions, greatswords); switching to greataxes is merely a matter of swapping Enhancements and adding Headman's Chop in Dreadnought. In heroics, take Tenacious Defense from tier-3 Stalwart Defender for +25% HPs; after level 21, you'll use Epic Defensive Fighting and should switch to Hardy Defense (+6 CON).

Kept the Dragonmark of Passage because glowing tattoos are cool. And also Dimension Door is a quality-of-life improvement for certain quests. But you can drop the DM feat and redo Enhancements(41 Kensei / 31 SD / 8 human) so you can take Defensive Sweep (level 18 Stalwart Defender). This is now a passive bonus: +15% Exceptional bonus to Armor Class , +50% Threat, and +25 PRR. While you're at it, maybe move Spring Attack up sooner by delaying Precision and the Weapon Focus/Specialization line.

What's that? You've Favor-unlocked 32-point builds and have acquired a couple of +2 tomes so you're ready for an upgrade using your free Heart of Wood? And you want Improved Trip too? Well okay!

THF Kensei (U45)
Fighter 20
True Neutral Human


Stats
               32pt     Tome     Level Up
               ----     ----     --------
Strength        18                4: STR
Dexterity       11       +2       8: STR
Constitution    16               12: STR
Intelligence    11       +2      16: STR
Wisdom           8               20: STR
Charisma         8               24: STR
                                 28: STR

Skills
          1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
         ------------------------------------------------------------
Intim     3  2     2     2     2     2     2     2     2     2     2  23
Search    1  1  1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     11
UMD       2     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     11
Balance            1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1   9
Jump      1                                                            1
Tumble    1                                                            1
         ------------------------------------------------------------
         12  4  4  4  4  4  4  4  4  4  4  4  4  4  4  4  4  4  4  4


Feats

 1        : Power Attack
 1 Human  : Cleave
 1 Fighter: Two Handed Fighting
 2 Fighter: Combat Expertise
 3        : Improved Trip
 4 Fighter: Great Cleave
 6        : Stunning Blow
 6 Fighter: Improved Two Handed Fighting
 8 Fighter: Improved Critical: Slashing
 9        : Weapon Focus: Slashing
10 Fighter: Weapon Specialization: Slashing
12        : Greater Weapon Focus: Slashing
12 Fighter: Greater Two Handed Fighting
14 Fighter: Precision
15        : Dodge
16 Fighter: Tactical Supremacy
18        : Mobility
18 Fighter: Spring Attack
20 Fighter: Whirlwind Attack OR Greater Weapon Specialization: Slashing
21 Epic   : Overwhelming Critical
24 Epic   : Bulwark of Defense OR Tactical Mastery
26 Destiny: Perfect Two Handed Fighting
27 Epic   : Epic Damage Reduction OR Greater Weapon Specialization: Slashing
28 Destiny: Perfect Two Weapon Fighting
29 Destiny: Dire Charge
30 Epic   : Epic Fortitude OR Blinding Speed
30 Legend : Scion of: Arborea OR Astral Plane


Enhancements (80 AP)

Kensei (41 AP)
Kensei Focus: Heavy Blades, Spiritual Bond, Strike With No Thought, Power Surge, One Cut, Alacrity
Extra Action Boost III, Weapon Group Specialization: Heavy Blades, Action Boost: Haste Boost III
Weapon Group Specialization: Heavy Blades, Ascetic Training: Conditioning III
Weapon Group Specialization: Heavy Blades, Shattering Strike: Shattering Strike I, Strength
Opportunity Attack, Weapon Group Specialization: Heavy Blades, Liquid Courage, Strike at the Heart, Strength
A Good Death: Melee, Weapon Master, One With The Blade, Deadly Strike: Deadly Strike, Keen Edge

Stalwart Defender (31 AP)
Toughness, Stalwart Defense, Overbalance, Stand Fast, Defensive Sweep
Improved Stalwart Defense: Durable Defense III, Stalwart Defensive Mastery III
Improved Stalwart Defense: Resilient Defense III, Instinctive Defense III
Greater Stalwart Defense: Strong Defense III, Strength
Swift Defense, Greater Stalwart Defense: Hardy Defense III, Reinforced Defense: Reinforced Armor III, Strength

Human (8 AP)
Damage Boost, Strength
Improved Recovery
Great Weapon Aptitude III


Destiny (24 AP)

Legendary Dreadnought
Legendary Tactics III, Extra Action Boost III
Momentum Swing III, Imp. Combat Expertise, Imp. Power Attack, Damage Boost III
Lay Waste
(none)
Advancing Blows, Devastating Critical
Master's Blitz

Whirlwind Attack is still...not great with weapons. But you have all the pre-req feats anyway so why not? You can always swap it out later for something else.

[the_one_dwarfforged]

only recommendations:

10 int instead of dex

stunning blow at level 1, push the pre lvl 9 thf/wf/s feats down one each, greater weapon spec and improved sunder switch places, add bulwark of defense OR quick draw

trade 2 ranks of shattering strike for critical mastery, trade 2 ranks of armor expertise for instinctive defense

trade volcanos edge (i really wish this didnt totally suck complete ass, but it does) for 2 ranks of critical damage

mention brace for impact, piercing clarity, endless faith, purge the wicked as potentially quite useful twists (id say primal scream too but i think youre against that, right?)



the real problem with a new player friendly fighter build, or at least a pure one, is that its pretty much indistinguishable from an uber one, except for past lives and gear.

[nacidocoqui]

only recommendations:

10 int instead of dex

stunning blow at level 1, push the pre lvl 9 thf/wf/s feats down one each, greater weapon spec and improved sunder switch places, add bulwark of defense OR quick draw

trade 2 ranks of shattering strike for critical mastery, trade 2 ranks of armor expertise for instinctive defense

trade volcanos edge (i really wish this didnt totally suck complete ass, but it does) for 2 ranks of critical damage

mention brace for impact, piercing clarity, endless faith, purge the wicked as potentially quite useful twists (id say primal scream too but i think youre against that, right?)



the real problem with a new player friendly fighter build, or at least a pure one, is that its pretty much indistinguishable from an uber one, except for past lives and gear.

Hello! Unbongwah, thank you so very much for the post-U33 build concept. Dwarfforged, a couple of questions, if I may? Wouldn't the 10 Dex, or even 10 Wis for no negative modifiers to will saves, be better in the long run for a straight fighter than the 10 Int? Assuming 11 Balance, 11 Heal, and 1 Tumble at level 20, would the extra 4 skill points at start and 1 more skill point per level thereafter make that much of a difference? Is the max Shattering Strike just not as effective overall as compared to Critical Mastery? Is being struck helpless a common concern for a fighter that would necessitate 3/3 Instinctive Defense and only 1 rank of Armor Expertise? Please don't take any of this as griping or arguing, I'm still learning all the ins and outs of how DDO works, and I like to measure-thrice-cut-once, if you take my meaning, before diving into a character. Having said that, thank you both for your advice!

V/R,
Nacidocoqui

[the_one_dwarfforged]

Hello! Unbongwah, thank you so very much for the post-U33 build concept. Dwarfforged, a couple of questions, if I may? Wouldn't the 10 Dex, or even 10 Wis for no negative modifiers to will saves, be better in the long run for a straight fighter than the 10 Int? Assuming 11 Balance, 11 Heal, and 1 Tumble at level 20, would the extra 4 skill points at start and 1 more skill point per level thereafter make that much of a difference? Is the max Shattering Strike just not as effective overall as compared to Critical Mastery? Is being struck helpless a common concern for a fighter that would necessitate 3/3 Instinctive Defense and only 1 rank of Armor Expertise? Please don't take any of this as griping or arguing, I'm still learning all the ins and outs of how DDO works, and I like to measure-thrice-cut-once, if you take my meaning, before diving into a character. Having said that, thank you both for your advice!

V/R,
Nacidocoqui

the difference between 8 dex and 10 dex is literally 1 point of a saving throw. 1 point. thats pretty much zero for most of the game imo. im not saying that one should ignore every opportunity to add small amounts here and there to stats like that, because its the many small bits that add up to huge amounts, but i think 10 int is simply better in this case. if you are assuming 11 balance and heal at 20 with 8 int, then all the more reason to make it 10. the reason for that is first and foremost, your number one skill on nearly every single build should be umd (i guess spellcraft is number 1 for arcanes and heal is number one for healbots...but idc about them and regardless in those cases umd is still number 2). with 10 int you could have 11 umd, heal and balance. personally i think the balance skill is somewhat underrated, and either way, you get more numerical value added to your survivability with +11 balance vs +1 saving throw. at least i see it that way, anyways. also, there are easier ways of making your pure fighter resilient to attack against your saves. magic circle against evil scrolls (pfe scrolls might and the old school ship buff might also work for this now, i think i saw they fixed the bug with those, but perhaps not. magic circle definitely works, regardless) will give you 5 minutes of immunity to command. any of the numerous fom items can be used as a buff (flask) or swap in to prevent you from sliding around or being held or being webbed (i dont think fire shield works to prevent web anymore? or maybe its only natural webs or something?). gust of wind scrolls can be used to blow out ottos spheres of dancing, which also are quite easy to simply not stand in. symbol of stunning is very easy to proc without subjecting yourself to a save against its stun (as soon as you see it cast just make sure youre not in it. wait a second, then simply run through it or into it 40-50% of the way and then back out. as long as you arent ****ing around or cced by something else you should be able to make them disappear 95%+ of the time without getting stunned). additionally, its really easy to prevent cc by using cc yourself. when you see a room of baddies, go right for the caster and trip, stun, or dire charge it. also, if you just kills things fast enough, they may not have a chance to use cc against you. additionally, if certain mobs or rooms or quests are difficult, try using line of sight, they cant cc you around corners, and will chase you using the fastest path possible, meaning if you wait right around the corner theyll simply walk right into your face making it very convenient to cc or kill things. lastly its not too hard to get a greater harper pin, and if youre running in legendary dreadnaught you basically get a second one, which can break you out of a decent number of cc effects. so yea, +1 save is not particularly valuable to me at all.

honestly, shattering strike vs critical mastery idk which one is really mathematically overall better, assuming you use shattering strike on cd. however, that also doesnt matter at all in this case, as this is a new player build so id recommend the passive anyway. i know i dont use shattering strike on cd, partly because its not a huge increase in damage, partly because im lazy and dont care that much anymore, and partly because its not necessary (i mean that overall, against high fort targets yea, i use it pretty fkin frequently). i would expect a new player to have a similar if not worse attitude and be much more forgetful of it as well. additionally a really silly comment that i see frequently on the forums is that people dont like pushing buttons (yet are playing computer games...), so...yea... plus my totally baseless guesstimate is that +2 seeker will be more damage given the decent crit profile of a fighter than +2[w] every 10 seconds.

honestly when it comes to those certain points in stalwart that you have to spend to get the second tier of greater defensive stance (or whatever the **** that line is called), theyre pretty much all garbage at worst, mildly undesirably on average, and generally nonfactors at best. once you get to that point where you are scraping the bottom of the barrel, instinctive defense is i feel really the only enhancements available that can actually make a positive difference, however marginal or niche, rather than simply being a filler/waste, or detriment. as stated above, i personally think that if you dont play like a total ****** or noob fighters are in an alright place with their saves and shouldnt have to worry too much. that said, sometimes you do get cced into a helpless state (particularly a concern for a human over a robot fighter, as robots are naturally immune to holds). if you are forced to sit there through the entire duration, 15% less damage (as opposed to 5% less) might be the difference that keeps you alive (especially if you are also blocking while cced, which you should be). even if you have a clicky that you can use to escape helpless cc, you might be a bit slow or not remember right away, so it could still help a bit. +2 ac otoh is kinda in the same boat as +1 save above. its almost the same thing as 0, fighters really arent going to be getting the stupid amounts of ac necessary to make it particularly worth investing in unless they are a snb fighter who is actually investing in ac in the first place.

edit: just in case anyone actually reads this, I want to amend my previous position on the less than obviously good enhancements in StD. Since the advent of reaper I've been using item defense and I mother ****ing love it. In non reaper its certainly not a necessity but I'd take it anyway. It tickles me pink.

[EllisDee37]

The only skills I'd want on a pure fighter, offhand, are Intimidate and UMD. A human can max both with 8 int, other races require 10 int.

So for human I'd move the 10 from dex to cha to give +1 UMD, which I see as more valuable than +1 Reflex Save & AC. Or, if you like balance (I do not, but don't begrudge it), move the 10 to int and max balance as well.


. . . . . 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
Intim . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Balance . 1. 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 .11
UMD . . . 2. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 11
Tumble. . 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . .12. 3. 3. 3. 3. 3. 3. 3. 3. 3. 3. 3. 3. 3. 3. 3. 3. 3. 3. 3

[Kirlian]

Does Stalwart defender stance stack with monk stances? After over a year break i logged on and did not show any increase on stats from fighter enhancements.

[unbongwah]

Does Stalwart defender stance stack with monk stances? After over a year break i logged on and did not show any increase on stats from fighter enhancements.

It does, however Greater Defensive bonuses (+CON/STR/HPs) only apply if you have a shield or medium/heavy armor equipped, which is obviously incompatible with being centered.

[majikfreak]

I'm gonna try this, just need to adapt it to a dwarf.

[GoldyGopher]

I'm gonna try this, just need to adapt it to a dwarf.

Be interested to see you results.

[M0rfeo]

Hello,

i see you choose Heavy Blades for Kensai enha, so what will be the final main weapon for this char? Maybe eSoS? Swapping Kensai weapon to axes and using an Epic Riftmaker (choosing Headman's Chop from LD destiny) will improve final DPS?

TY

[unbongwah]

i see you choose Heavy Blades for Kensai enha, so what will be the final main weapon for this char? Maybe eSoS? Swapping Kensai weapon to axes and using an Epic Riftmaker (choosing Headman's Chop from LD destiny) will improve final DPS?

Build as posted was designed to use falchions or greatswords (eSOS). Easy to switch to greataxes by changing Kensei Focus to axes and taking Headman's Chop from LD. It would also work with mauls, but you'd have to swap all the Slashing feats for Blunt, so you need to make that choice early on; at which point you take Picks & Hammers as your Kensei focus and add Pulverizer in epics.

[barcksnbama]

First off thank you for this guide Unbongwah.

I've enjoyed running it through R1-R4 heroic and R1-R2 epic. I feel it has performed very well with minimal gear. What would you consider to be the optimum gear layout for this build at level 30? Including Cannith Crafted, Slavers, Legendary Greensteel and Named Items.

Thanks for your advice.

[unbongwah]

What would you consider to be the optimum gear layout for this build at level 30?

No idea: I haven't had an endgame toon in well over a year, I think, so I'm waaaay out of the loop when it comes to gear.

[Brother_Aurelius]

Someone asked to see my take on a post-U33 F2P pure Kensei so here it is.

THF Kensei (F2P)
Fighter 20
True Neutral Human


Stats
               28pt     32pt     Level Up
               ----     ----     --------
Strength        18       18       4: STR
Dexterity       10        8       8: STR
Constitution    16       18      12: STR
Intelligence     8        8      16: STR
Wisdom           8        8      20: STR
Charisma         8        8      24: STR
                                 28: STR

Feats

 1        : Power Attack
 1 Human  : Cleave
 1 Fighter: Two Handed Fighting
 2 Fighter: Weapon Focus: Slashing
 3        : Least Dragonmark: Passage
 4 Fighter: Great Cleave
 6        : Weapon Specialization: Slashing
 6 Fighter: Improved Two Handed Fighting
 8 Fighter: Improved Critical: Slashing
 9        : Stunning Blow
10 Fighter: Greater Weapon Focus: Slashing
12        : Improved Sunder
12 Fighter: Greater Two Handed Fighting
14 Fighter: Heavy Armor Champion
15        : Greater Weapon Specialization: Slashing
16 Fighter: Tactical Supremacy
18        : Superior Weapon Focus: Slashing
18 Fighter: Tactical Mastery
20 Fighter: Heavy Armor Master
21 Epic   : Overwhelming Critical
24 Epic   : Bulwark of Defense
26 Destiny: Perfect Two Handed Fighting
27 Epic   : Epic Damage Reduction
28 Destiny: Perfect Two Weapon Fighting OR Elusive Target
29 Destiny: Dire Charge OR Deific Warding
30 Epic   : Blinding Speed
30 Legend : Scion of: Arborea


Enhancements (80 AP)

Kensei (41 AP)

Kensei Focus: Heavy Blades, Spiritual Bond, Strike with No Thought, Power Surge, One Cut, Alacrity

Extra Action Boost III, Weapon Group Specialization, Haste Boost III
Weapon Group Specialization
Weapon Group Specialization, Shattering Strike III, Strength
Opportunity Attack, Weapon Group Specialization, Liquid Courage, Strike at the Heart, Strength
A Good Death: Melee, Weapon Master, One with the Blade, Deadly Strike, Keen Edge

Stalwart Defender (26 AP)

Toughness, Stalwart Defense

Durable Defense III, Stalwart Defensive Mastery III
Resilient Defense III, Armor Expertise III, Instinctive Defense I
Tenacious Defense III, Strength
Swift Defense, Strong Defense III, Strength

Human (13 AP)

Damage Boost

Dragonmark Focus: Orien III, Action Surge: Strength III, Improved Recovery
Lesser Dragonmark: Dimension Door
Improved Recovery

Leveling Guide

Ken0 Kensei Focus: Heavy Blades; Ken1 Haste Boost I, II, III
Ken1 Weapon Group Specialization; Ken2 Weapon Group Specialization
Ken0 Spiritual Bond; Hum0 Damage Boost; Hum1 Improved Recovery
Hum1 Dragonmark Focus: Orien I, II; Hum2 Lesser Dragonmark: Dimension Door
Ken1 Extra Action Boost I, II
Ken0 Strike with No Thought; Ken1 Extra Action Boost III; Hum1 Action Surge: Strength I
Ken3 Weapon Group Specialization; Ken3 Strength
Ken4 Opportunity Attack; Ken4 Liquid Courage
Ken4 Strike at the Heart; Hum1 Action Surge: Strength II, III
Hum3 Improved Recovery; Hum3 Heroism
Ken3 Shattering Strike I; Ken4 Weapon Group Specialization; Hum1 Dragonmark Focus: Orien III
Ken0 Power Surge; Ken5 Keen Edge; Ken5 One with the Blade; Ken5 Weapon Master
Hum4 Greater Heroism; Ken5 A Good Death: Melee; Ken5 Deadly Strike
SD0 Toughness; SD1 Stalwart Defensive Mastery I, II, III
SD1 Durable Defense I; SD0 Stalwart Defense; SD1 Durable Defense II, III
SD2 Resilient Defense I, II; SD3 Tenacious Defense I, II
SD3 Tenacious Defense III; SD2 Resilient Defense III; SD3 Strength
Ken0 One Cut; SD2 Armor Expertise I, II, III
Ken4 Strength; Ken3 Shattering Strike II, III
Ken0 Alacrity; SD2 Instinctive Defense I; SD4 Swift Defense; SD4 Strong Defense I
Reset Human

Stalwart Defender

(none)
(none)
(none)
Strong Defense III, Strength

Human: Damage Boost

Dragonmark Focus: Orien III, Action Surge: Strength III, Improved Recovery
Lesser Dragonmark: Dimension Door
Improved Recovery



Destiny (24 AP)

Legendary Dreadnought

Legendary Tactics III, Extra Action Boost III, Strength
Momentum Swing III, Imp. Power Attack, Strength
Lay Waste
Volcano's Edge
Advancing Blows, Devastating Critical
Master's Blitz

Twists of Fate (30 fate points)

Sense Weakness (Tier 4 Fury)
Grim Precision (Tier 3 Shadowdancer)
Hail of Blows (Tier 2 Flowers)
Rejuvenation Cocoon (Tier 1 Primal)

Hello and thank you very much for this build.

I have just started to play DDO because of a friend, and I was looking for exactly a build like this. Can't wait to try it out (:

[troublegurl]

Is this build up to date for today's game?

[unbongwah]

Define "up to date." I haven't really made any changes to the OP because fighters haven't been buffed since Update 33. It is intended to be a first-life F2P build, thus no Harper, Vistani, etc. It's also tome-free. But it can be adapted to any race / life / build pts you like.

Likewise define "for today's game." On a scale of "soloing Casual" and "running Reaper 10 nekkid," is it suitable for the latter? Umm, no, but what is?

[troublegurl]

Define "up to date." I haven't really made any changes to the OP because fighters haven't been buffed since Update 33. It is intended to be a first-life F2P build, thus no Harper, Vistani, etc. It's also tome-free. But it can be adapted to any race / life / build pts you like.

Likewise define "for today's game." On a scale of "soloing Casual" and "running Reaper 10 nekkid," is it suitable for the latter? Umm, no, but what is?

By today's game just wondering if feats are still in play and as you stated fighters haven't been buffed you answered my question????
BTW I love your builds

[unbongwah]

As dwarfforged pointed out, on a 28pt build you could start INT 10 instead of DEX 10 for extra skill pts. The original draft was 32pt build (STR 18 CON 18 everything else dumped) then I downgraded it for 28pt the lazy way.

Dragonmarks are unnecessary, but it's nice to have Expeditious Retreat early on for a first-life newbie; and Dimension Door is occasionally helpful too on a class which otherwise can't cast it.

Otherwise...well, it's a fighter. You run around and hit things a lot while trying not to die. It isn't rocket science.

[Tricosene]

By today's game just wondering if feats are still in play and as you stated fighters haven't been buffed you answered my question????
BTW I love your builds

I'm using a fighter build similar to this one and it is doing well soloing heroic elite. I expect at epic levels I'll move to hard.

Fighters have so many feat slots that you can make a few changes to them and still have the most essential in place.

You should do just fine using unbongwah's build.

[zwiebelring]

I use this template for easy Ftr past lives. Some differences, which may be useful or providing some change in gameplay:

I focused in gear setup on heal amp., aiming at running epic elite and epic R1s solo. Displacement came from heroic greensteel clickies if I desired. Else I chugged regular cure pot.s and it went well. If you are a new player and want to get a taste for higher difficulties I suggest you adapt your gear setup. Main focus: healing Amplification on items and enhancements (Kensei got that lovely drinking enhancement, boosting your heal amp. for a short time when drinking any pot., which comes in handy when using stuff like Remove Curse, lesser Restoration, even Haste, I believe).

That way I healed 100+ hp from a regular Cure Serious potion in regular content and slightly below on reaper 1, iirc.