Looking for S&B build

[Veltn]

Im looking for a S&B build no tomes and no epic destiny im a newbie and i just want a class build for my first tr idk what to go for im stuck trying to pick between pally or fighter all i know is that i want to use bastard swords plz help will consider multiclass as long it still is mainly melee

[Captain_Wizbang]

you're going to get a few well informed people give you advice and links. And it's all good stuff.

Ive played S&B's for a while, and Im going to make some sense of the build for you. These are fun builds, and at early stages have less button smashing than other classes.

One of the 1st thing to understand is the dps will be on the low side. & Having a shield doesn't necessarily equate great defensive #'s.

Some people have had great success with the orb & sword combo. And a lot of the extra kills come from all the crit extras available. ( I haven't run one yet)

Pally vs Fighter, Heal vs dps & tactical advantages. Tough choice. Both classes are feat & point starved, so multi-classing is kind of tricky, maybe a better word is quirky.

Race, Human for the free feat, (bastard swords)

Going S&B the BIG advantage is a stun build. Shield rush & charge are a poor mans crowd control. And if you build for that, it can deliver an amazing amount of damage and insta-kills. Take all shield stunning & bashing you can. *I'm not sold on how effective the % on secondary bash is. those points can be best used elsewhere. Also because the secondary effects on most shields are meh*

Tactics are a major investment into a solid S&B, mandatory IMO. You need to make up for lower dps, so tactics is how that's done.
Trip and Improved trip (fighter only) you HAVE to take (combat expertise). Which is STUPID, but it is what it is. And is it worth it? HECK YEAH. ALL of the fighters stun/smash & bash, charge & rush dmge are based on the trip modifiers. (Fighter adds the trip, pally does not)

Armor type & max dex bonus. With my 36 pt builds I sneak in higher dex, for better flexibility in heavy armor. Take at least one armor agility or armor mastery to increase the dex cap. This really helps in epic levels. I even take dodge. Sounds off the wall, but having a little dodge is worth the investment. (make sure to put at least one full point into tumble also)

Points:
Pally:
str 18
dex 9* 10
con 16
int 8
wis 10
cha what ever is left. (trading dex)

Fighter: (int, wis, cha for a ftr are for saves mainly)
str 18
dex 12
con 17
int ?
wis ?
cha ?

At creation is good place to sneak in the tumble point. Because the level up for S&B is mainly str. Jump & swim is our only 2 ways to increase str as per your request.

Level up for a Pally is split w/ heal & str.

TBD I'll add more later (time thing atm)

[Veltn]

Thanks for tips and advice and it looks all great im going to wait a little longer to see what else pops up since i dont want to rush in to quickly

[Tom116]

Im looking for a S&B build no tomes and no epic destiny im a newbie and i just want a class build for my first tr idk what to go for im stuck trying to pick between pally or fighter all i know is that i want to use bastard swords plz help will consider multiclass as long it still is mainly melee

Lagin has it summed up pretty well, honestly

I'd suggest Paladin over Fighter as a first life simply on the grounds of self heals being available. High strength/constitution, a pretty good charisma (for saves and divine might), and a usable (you'll need to hit 14 by level 14, but this includes items/buffs/any tomes you might find on the way) wisdom.

Assuming you don't have any premium races, I'd suggest human for the extra feat. The bonus skill point also means it's easier to get away with dumping Intelligence, and they have healing amp which is always nice.

Going S&B you should aim at the Vanguard tree mainly, but make sure to pick up Sacred Defence (HUGE hp bonus, also saves and other helpful things) stance from the Sacred Defender tree.

Depending on how your AP are used, you can also grab the cleaves from Knight of the Chalice and save on feats that way.

Just as a rough stat layout (using 28 points, the default for first life/f2p players):

Strength: 16
Dexterity: 8
Constitution: 16
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 10 (a +4 item is easy enough to get, or a +2 item if you can manage to find a guild with an airship that has buffs)
Charisma: 14

Take Power Attack and the Shield Mastery feats for sure, maybe a Weapon Proficiency: Khopesh to use with your shield too.

[EllisDee37]

Vanguard Paladin for new players

Also see the two builds linked in the OP of that thread. (BigErkyKid's Erkid the Basher) and unbongwah's Sacred Vanguard)

Also see the Build Repository for a general list of builds. All three of these linked builds are in the Paladin section of the repository.

[Captain_Wizbang]

Thanks for tips and advice and it looks all great im going to wait a little longer to see what else pops up since i dont want to rush in to quickly

Like I said, there will some some great builds linked for you. I've used the Sacred Vanguard build linked by elisdee tweaked to my liking for a long time.
You'l find what build feels right and run with it.

DDO has one of the best character customization systems of any mmo, so you'll have fun learning how it all works.

[Veltn]

Thank you for advice and tips i'll look into these's to help me decide

[unbongwah]

If you aren't wedded to bastard swords, Swashbucklers are the other "serious" S&B option (after pure Vanguards). Several builds to consider in the bard forum:

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...e-swashbuckler
https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...or-new-players
https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...59#post5824559

That last one is the most "tank-like" in terms of having lots of CON & HPs vs the first two. It's also pretty backloaded and requires Harper as posted so not what I'd call F2P-friendly.

I suppose technically you could take something like my Axesinger and convert it from 2H weapons to conventional S&B (rather than Swashbuckler), but that quickly becomes feat- and AP-constrained.