Obsolete Characters - LR or TR?

[Dulcimerist]

I have three level 14 characters that were created in 2010-2011, which were made obsolete after the enhancement system overhaul. They were also on those lame "path" things. I've finally been playing them again, but they need ability points and feats changed (Toughness is no longer a prerequisite for enhancements). Should I use their BtC Lesser Hearts to fix them now, or just tough out their flaws and quickly get them to level 20 to use True Hearts? They're all first-lifers with Greater Tomes of Learning, so XP should flow in quickly. Is it worth burning a Lesser Heart on any of them right now?

My DEX-based drow rogue doesn't need Weapon Finesse anymore, due to Assassin enhancements. This character already has a BtC True Heart in the bank for immediate TR at level 20, so maybe I can tough this one out while having "wasted" feat slots?

My TWF drow paladin is so old that she doesn't have a deity feat, so there's no "emergency heal" ability from that until a LR or TR is done. Is this something I could get along without from level 14-20, and until I can get a True Heart?

My STR-based human bard warchanter is a 28-point build swinging falchions, but will become a 32-point CHA-based swashbuckler warchanter as soon as a LR or TR is done. This one would have the most significant improvement by using a Lesser Heart right now, but is the jump from level 14 to 20 so fast on first life that an LR might not really be worth it?

Thanks in advance for advice and opinions!

[Saekee]

weapon finesse is actually nice for assassins because you can use dex to hit and damage with skellie beaters. Not as necessary, but hardly an issue; I would just feat swap it for improved feint from Fred.

Overall, depends on your time, but getting a first lifer with a greater tome from 14 to 20 happens crazy fast. Just join groups and let them know you are gimp but want to watch how awesome they are with their killing prowess. Like little happy adolescents (which they might be anyway) they will perform for you while you pike (run around flailing uselessly) the xp

[Matuse]

I'd just turn them into mules and favor gatherers.

[Dulcimerist]

weapon finesse is actually nice for assassins because you can use dex to hit and damage with skellie beaters.

Isn't it DEX to hit, but still STR for damage with weapon finesse?
*EDIT* - I re-read the Assassin enhancement, and see that it gives DEX to damage. That's really cool! That means she's getting the damage bonus on her old collection of rapiers and short swords!

[Frogger1234]

I recommend playing them a bit first. They might not be as painful to play as you think. None of your characters sound terrible, and you can make some adjustments as you level. If you do find any of them painful, or you decide that you really want to play a different build instead, you can use the LR hearts confident that it's the right decision.

If you play to 20 and TR, you get a past life and a 34 point build for the next life.

If you LR, you can make a build you can take into epics.

[C-Dog]

...maybe I can tough this one out while having "wasted" feat slots?

Don't need a LHoW to respec a feat: http://ddowiki.com/page/Fred#Feat_respec (or more than one!)

My TWF drow paladin is so old that she doesn't have a deity feat... Is this something I could get along without from level 14-20, and until I can get a True Heart?

Of course. It's nice, but not a dealbreaker.

My STR-based human bard warchanter is a 28-point build swinging falchions, but will become a 32-point CHA-based swashbuckler warchanter as soon as a LR or TR is done. This one would have the most significant improvement by using a Lesser Heart right now, but is the jump from level 14 to 20 so fast on first life that an LR might not really be worth it!

Probably, altho' "worth it" is a very personal evaluation. (and "34 point")

Overall, depends on your time, but getting a first lifer with a greater tome from 14 to 20 happens crazy fast. Just join groups and let them know you are gimp...

I had a couple builds like this that I wanted to re-do - I put "broken build" in the Bio and just toughed it out. You have to swallow your pride, and accept that you simply cannot hang w/ the leaders but have to wait for others to grab aggro before you jump in and contribute anything.

Not a bad lesson in playstyle. And, yeah, it went by really fast, and the 34 point version (w/ PL benefits) was def worth it.

[TitusOvid]

Lvl 20 can be reached fairly quickly with 1st time and every other bonus lying around. I can carry you to 20 with one if you like. Titus is lvl 15 atm. We just have to hook up after eastern.

[cru121]

I would probably hoard the hearts because I am a hoarder. But realistically, old mules might already have multiple hearts in their inventories. So spending some of them for a thorough respec might be a good idea.

[Enoach]

To LR you either need the Heart (each character upon creation should have one, and one was issued during the enhancement overhaul).

Advantage is you will be bumped to a 32 point build (if not already)
Can re-stat and re-feat

But if you don't have one, I don't recommend purchasing this from the store and here is why...

To TR you do need tokens to exchange for a heart. This can be done with an Epic Level character and while it will take a some questing it is not difficult to do since they drop on all difficulty levels for the Ebberon quests.

First Life characters are not hard to cap. Low XP requirements

[Dulcimerist]

Lvl 20 can be reached fairly quickly with 1st time and every other bonus lying around. I can carry you to 20 with one if you like. Titus is lvl 15 atm. We just have to hook up after eastern.

I'll take you up on your offer! It'll probably be my rogue, since she already has the BtC True Heart of Wood in the bank. After running her through some stuff, she's surprising me at how strong she is with the new enhancements! I could then stuff a bunch of inventory onto her to make use of the TR cache for maximum storage to better organize my current inventory mess.

My bard is set up to be the best party buffer possible, and would likely be welcome in groups. Trying out my paladin, she's also surprising me with the new enhancements - the only time I might really miss the deity feat heal is in reaper mode, but I could avoid those. With either of these, I'll let the party know that my build isn't the optimal near-perfection that I strive for.

Thanks for all of the advice! It sounds as though saving these characters' BtC Lesser Hearts of Wood in their banks would be best for me, toughing out the first-life sprint to level 20 for a TR.

I did already use the BtC +0 Lesser Heart on my 28-point dwarf barbarian, simply because he has the most favor, needs to unlock more freebies on the server, and will be spending quite a bit of time in epic play in his first life.

[TitusOvid]

I'll take you up on your offer! It'll probably be my rogue, since she already has the BtC True Heart of Wood in the bank. After running her through some stuff, she's surprising me at how strong she is with the new enhancements! I could then stuff a bunch of inventory onto her to make use of the TR cache for maximum storage to better organize my current inventory mess.

My bard is set up to be the best party buffer possible, and would likely be welcome in groups. Trying out my paladin, she's also surprising me with the new enhancements - the only time I might really miss the deity feat heal is in reaper mode, but I could avoid those. With either of these, I'll let the party know that my build isn't the optimal near-perfection that I strive for.

Thanks for all of the advice! It sounds as though saving these characters' BtC Lesser Hearts of Wood in their banks would be best for me, toughing out the first-life sprint to level 20 for a TR.

I did already use the BtC +0 Lesser Heart on my 28-point dwarf barbarian, simply because he has the most favor, needs to unlock more freebies on the server, and will be spending quite a bit of time in epic play in his first life.

It's a date then!

[Dulcimerist]

Thanks! The rogue will hit 20 with Titus and then immediately TR with the true heart she already has, keeping her lesser hearts in the bank.

The paladin will keep her lesser hearts in the bank, and work toward 20 as-is; probably spending a bit of time at epic to farm up gear for the next life.

The bard I'm still torn on. He could level quickly enough, and then try to farm up a true heart. However, using his +0 lesser heart might make that time more fun and enjoyable. The lesser heart would allow me to finish levels 14-20 as 32-point, would fix the horrible skill point allocation the "path" assigned, and would allow me to switch from STR-based to CHA-based and grab all the feats to do swashbuckling. I did farm up a Swashbuckler from Crystal Cove and a couple of good swashbuckling weapons to use at levels 14-20. Would any bard players out there be able to comment on how fun a swashbuckling warchanter can be, as opposed to just a straight-up warchanter?