Iconic Haggle Specialist Build?

[Dulcimerist]

I've been dabbling a bit on a new server, and am strapped for platinum. I have access to Purple Dragon Knight, Shadar-kai, and Morninglord; and starting a haggle specialist at level 15 would be helpful. Is there a way to make one of these great at haggling, without making it severely unplayable?

[unbongwah]

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...onic-Hagglebot

But if you want something that's actually playable and not just a haggling bank alt, you'll want...something else, probably.

[C-Dog]

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...onic-Hagglebot...

I believe there have been passes that might make that build sub-optimal. Based on this exchange...

Wouldn't a bard (instead of rogue) be able to squeeze out a few more points?

Acrobat provides Charming (+3 to Haggle); bards don't get any Haggle bonuses, bizarrely enough...

Bards do get Haggle now, via Tier 1 Spellsinger. Not sure how big a gamechanger that is, but it points at the possibility.

But if you want something that's actually playable and not just a haggling bank alt, you'll want...something else, probably.

Fortunately, Haggle suffers from diminishing returns - the first 10 pts are much more value-saving than the last 10. So you could dump 10 pts off the 46 (or now, more/less?) Haggle, still have a pretty good 'bot, and have the AP to actually give it some juice.

[unbongwah]

Bards do get Haggle now, via Tier 1 Spellsinger.

Original build is from U19 (as is my comment); Charlatan didn't get a Haggle bonus until the bard pass in U22.

Bards also get Focusing Chant (+1 to all skills); but only rogues can get Skill Mastery, which that build takes twice, putting it a whopping +1 Haggle ahead. Although I suppose the bard can pick up extra CHA from its trees to make up the difference.

During the 10th anniversary event, I made a hagglebot on every server that didn't already have one and gave them a Ring of Lies for the +10 Haggle +6 CHA.

[unbongwah]

A quick skim of the wiki reveals the following trees have tier-1 Haggle bonuses (each is up to +3 unless otherwise noted):

• Ravager (barb)
• Spellsinger (bard)
• Seasons Herald (druid)
• Stalwart Defender (ftr)
• Henshin (monk) - only tree with two bonuses (+3 from Negotiator and up to +4 from Clever Monkey)
• Acrobat (rogue)
• Fire Savant (sorc) - biggest single bonus (+6)
• Soul Eater (warlock)

Among Iconic races, PDK seems like the best choice: they're the only Iconic with a Haggle bonus in their racial tree; and they get both Skill Boost and Action Surge (up to +3 CHA). Plus they start as fighter, which is one of the desired classes; Scourge, DG, BF, and ML start as a no-Haggle-bonus class. SDK start out rogue, obviously, though their -2 base CHA is a slight disincentive; but really it's about the PDK racial bonuses, IMO. Likewise, Scourge can get an extra pt of CHA from their cores, but that doesn't make up for the other racial bonuses or starting as ranger.

Finally, since Haggle is a CHA-based skill, if you want a hagglebot which is also effective in questing, it makes sense to play a CHA-based build: either caster (sorc or warlock) or melee (PDK w/CKT weapon perhaps).

So I was thinking PDK Fiend warlock 13 / ftr 1 / sorc 1: just a typical caster-blaster with some APs spent on Haggle bonuses. Or PDK bard 13 / ftr 1 / barb 1: standard CHA Swashbuckler / Warchanter hybrid. You'll need to do some gear farming first for either build, though. If you wanted something which could be played right away with PDK starter S&B gear...IDK maybe ftr 12 / barb 3 (Vanguard + Supreme Cleave)?

[Dewboy691]

I've been dabbling a bit on a new server, and am strapped for platinum. I have access to Purple Dragon Knight, Shadar-kai, and Morninglord; and starting a haggle specialist at level 15 would be helpful. Is there a way to make one of these great at haggling, without making it severely unplayable?

Which server. Maybe someone can throw some coin at you! I know I would. Post the name of your toon.

[C-Dog]

I've been dabbling a bit on a new server, and am strapped for platinum...

A hagglebot won't "make" you money, only save you some, and then only a noticeable amount over the long run. This is a good thing, no doubt, but won't solve your immediate problem.

I suggest you do one or more of the following...

1) Deconstruct trash loot, and sell the essences on the AH. Depending on the server, these sell for from maybe 500 (low end?) to 1000 (high end?) each.

2) If you don't like that, then sell your items at a broker, not a vendor. Vendors are in taverns, brokers are found on the level below the central Bazaar in the Marketplace and in dedicated shops around Stormreach. Better % return.

3) sell items on the AH. Don't hoard "everything". Get to know 1 subset of items, and get a feel for the market for those items - what sells, what doesn't, and at what price - and price to sell. (That is, just a little lower than the market will bear.) They'll sell fast, you'll have a cash flow, win/win.

And with all that cash, you can then save your additional 15% (or whatever) w/ your hagglebot (+% over whatever a non-dedicated alt might buy/sell for).

[Dulcimerist]

Thanks for the advice! I have 9 empty character slots to mess with on Cannith.

The vendors in House D and K get a lot of my loot. I hadn't thought of deconning and selling essences. I'm only level 8, so I wouldn't get many from loot at this level.

Hopefully they offer Ring of Lies again this year for the anniversary event!

[C-Dog]

I'm only level 8, so I wouldn't get many from loot at this level.

It's not a simple bell curve, but ML 8-10 items will return around 3-7 essences, with an average somewhere near the middle of that. It's not "5", but let's call it that for this discussion.

If you're only selling them for, say, 600 each*, that's about 2000 plat/item in your pocket (after AH's -30% take). Which I ~KNOW~ is better than what you'd pawn them for. PLUS, the weapons, shields and armour put a little decon coin straight into your pocket as a plus. That adds up too.

(* The market for every server is different, so that may(?) be a bit low. Check your AH prices, figure out what sells, what doesn't, and what's a gift. Price yours in between the latter two.)

[C-Dog]

But if you want something that's actually playable and not just a haggling bank alt, you'll want...something else, probably.

You might be able to tweak this build into a (non-optimized) haggler, and still have a very solid platform for questing.

o https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post5402650

Cha/Bard-based, and includes Fighter 6 and Rogue 2, and dives deep into PDK tiers, so you can pick up those racial bonuses along the way as well (some of which actually help the build!). Altho' Warchanter-based, it includes Stalwart Defender (for that +3 Haggle), and has "discretionary AP" to chase Spellsinger and Rogue's +3's.

Trading away Toughness for SF:Haggle won't be a big loss, and/or many players won't have Completionist for room for Negotiator +2 more.

[Dulcimerist]

You might be able to tweak this build into a (non-optimized) haggler, and still have a very solid platform for questing.

o https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post5402650

Cha/Bard-based, and includes Fighter 6 and Rogue 2, and dives deep into PDK tiers, so you can pick up those racial bonuses along the way as well (some of which actually help the build!). Altho' Warchanter-based, it includes Stalwart Defender (for that +3 Haggle), and has "discretionary AP" to chase Spellsinger and Rogue's +3's.

Trading away Toughness for SF:Haggle won't be a big loss, and/or many players won't have Completionist for room for Negotiator +2 more.

I do love the Warchanter's bag of tricks, and would likely have a lot of fun with that on a PDK! Can't remember if I can do 32-point on that server, or if I'm stuck with 28-point. I'll also have to figure out a more precise build outline to follow. I'd plan to not even bother with disabling traps, so I'm unsure if the Rogue levels are worth it - unless it's for more skill points. Would see about maxing Haggle skill point ranks, and would try to find some balance between choosing great questing feats/enhancements and going all out on Haggle. Somewhere in the middle, but maybe leaning a bit more toward questing usefulness. I want it to be fun enough that I find myself wanting to quest with this character. My brain feels overwhelmed. lol

[unbongwah]

I'd plan to not even bother with disabling traps, so I'm unsure if the Rogue levels are worth it - unless it's for more skill points.

If you're going the Swashbuckling Warchanter route, remember that you're still stuck with light armor, so a rogue splash just for Evasion still makes sense, even if you're skipping trap skills. Although that +30% XP bonus is nothing to sneer at...plus it is definitely possible to keep Disable & Search maxed out on a 32-pt tome-free build.