Seeking advice for end game reaper (support role/builds)

[polymath]

Hey there everyone,

I'll start off by saying I am very much enjoying high end reaper. Although my contribution seems to be mediocre at best which I will elaborate more on below. I should also note, I've been playing this game for 5 years or so (off and on) and just this past November did I finish up Heroic Completionist. The last couple of lives I've played inquisitive, and still with minimal reaper points (28) I felt my damage couldn't 'carry' us at in high reaper. I'm a power gamer at heart so when I heard of the strength of inquisitive I jumped on it and did 4 lives of it exclusively. I am no where near max geared but I have a decent amount. My conclusion is that high reaper is like a completely different game from heroic/low reaper. There's much needed strategy that's needed to complete 8+ reaper and damage alone won't allow you to complete these quests. How much DPS can you do when you're dead? That said, I do realize maxed out toons are doing some incredible solo/duo high reaper content, but as of right now that is not me - someday.

My goal is to push high reaper, but here's the kicker and what I am seeking advice on. It just occurred to me to utilize my power gamer mind set and seek other options outside of damage dealing. While I do realize it's a very powerful role to play in reaper, I feel my entry point into that role is down the road a bit more.

Perhaps this change is going from damage dealing to SUPPORT would be a way of allowing me to push high reaper and still have a massive impact. Down the road when I have some epic & racial pastlives/reaper points/gear then I can loop back around to my favorite role. I've seen several Tiefling Scoundrel bard builds out there using SWF that do decent dps while bringing great CC/heals. I was hoping someone on here could elaborate a bit more on this build? I've seen many variants of these bard build, some with fighter/fvs levels etc. I've also seen some impressive FVS builds using mass frog/heals/DC casting.

Final question is this, if I am switching up my playstyle to fit in with high reaper, which would you recommend as the best support role? Bard SWF ? FVS? I am open to options and would love your feed back. End game is very new to me, but I cant wait to continue to push that type of content. It feels like a totally different game to me and I like that a lot.


Thanks for reading and responding!

Pew pew regards,
Poly

[C-Dog]

No expert on Reaper, but from some things you've said*... stick to DPS. Anyone who does high-end Reaper might appreciate the occasional buff, but 95% are designed to be self-sufficient. So, unless you're questing with a fixed group, don't worry about it that much. You don't have to lead the kill count to make a significant contribution, and being able to kill "something" is always better than being just a buffer and a soft target. Accept R5 (or whatever), and climb up to the next rung when you can.

(* 28 Reaper points is hardly "minimal" - unless compared with dedicated Reaper characters. You're doing fine, you're just not "top" - yet. Stick to it, you'll get there.)

Otoh, if you really want to be towed above your build for better RXP (and there's nothing wrong with that, so long as you're finding willing groups), then... nm.

[polymath]

No expert on Reaper, but from some things you've said*... stick to DPS. Anyone who does high-end Reaper might appreciate the occasional buff, but 95% are designed to be self-sufficient. So, unless you're questing with a fixed group, don't worry about it that much. You don't have to lead the kill count to make a significant contribution, and being able to kill "something" is always better than being just a buffer and a soft target. Accept R5 (or whatever), and climb up to the next rung when you can.

(* 28 Reaper points is hardly "minimal" - unless compared with dedicated Reaper characters. You're doing fine, you're just not "top" - yet. Stick to it, you'll get there.)

Otoh, if you really want to be towed above your build for better RXP (and there's nothing wrong with that, so long as you're finding willing groups), then... nm.

Hey C-Dog, I appreciate the response. I suppose I was thinking about my contribution coming in the from of CC. I just feel I wasn't carrying my weight with a pure dps build, compared to heroic where I felt like I was able to lead and help with quest pacing. I do know high reaper is totally different than heroic questing, but I do enjoy the leadership aspect. With inquisitive, I felt if we don't have a balanced group we are toast. My idea was that I bring a lot of the carry potential and whoever fills the group from there just adds pace. Right now I do feel like I am being carried.

Nothing against inquisitive by the way, had a ton of fun...Just very team reliant. Which is great! That said, a build that's CC oriented is also very team centered, but brings a lot more to the table than raw damage. Hope this is making sense!

Poly

[rabidfox]

This my heal/CC/support heavy AA build. Meh for damage but great for locking things down and tossing out lots of heals. Not sure how it'd do on high end reaper stuff compared to what you've been running. It's setup for 4 AP off past lives, but you can ditch the warlock for fighter and save those enhancement points and gain a feat if needed.

New Build
17/2/1 Favored Soul/Rogue/Warlock
Elf


Level Order

1. Rogue . . . . . 6. Favored Soul. .11. Favored Soul. .16. Favored Soul
2. Warlock . . . . 7. Favored Soul. .12. Favored Soul. .17. Favored Soul
3. Favored Soul . .8. Favored Soul . 13. Favored Soul . 18. Favored Soul
4. Favored Soul . .9. Rogue . . . . .14. Favored Soul. .19. Favored Soul
5. Favored Soul . 10. Favored Soul . 15. Favored Soul . 20. Favored Soul


Stats
. . . . . . . .36pt . . Tome . . Level Up
. . . . . . . .---- . . ----. . .--------
Strength. . . . .8. . . .+8. . . .4: INT
Dexterity . . . 13. . . .+8. . . .8: INT
Constitution. . 15. . . .+8. . . 12: INT
Intelligence. . 16. . . .+8. . . 16: WIS
Wisdom. . . . . 16. . . .+8. . . 20: WIS
Charisma. . . . .8. . . .+8. . . 24: WIS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28: WIS

Skills
. . . . . R .W. F. F. F. F. F. F. R .F .F .F .F .F .F .F .F .F .F .F
. . . . . 1 .2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
Disable . 4 .1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. . .2. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Open Lo . 4 . . . .½ .½ .½ .½ . . 6 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .23
Search. . 4 .1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. . .2. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Spot. . . 4 .1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. . .2. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. ½. 1½ 1 .1 .23
Heal. . . 2 . . . . . . . . . .8 . . . . . 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 2. . .2 .2 .21
Balance . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Jump. . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Haggle. . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
UMD . . . 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Concent . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Tumble. . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Perform . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . .44 .6. 6. 7. 7. 7. 7. 8 14. 8. 8. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9. 9 10 10


Feats

.1. . . . : Point Blank Shot
.3. . . . : Rapid Shot
.6. . . . : Precise Shot
.9. . . . : Quicken Spell
12. . . . : Manyshot
15. . . . : Improved Critical: Ranged
18. . . . : Improved Precise Shot
21 Epic . : Overwhelming Critical
24 Epic . : Empower Healing Spell
26 Destiny: Holy Strike
27 Epic . : Blinding Speed
28 Destiny: Doubleshot
29 Destiny: Mass Frog
30 Epic . : Precision
30 Legend : Scion of: Astral Plane

.3 Deity. : Follower of: Silver Flame
.8 Deity. : Silver Flame Exorcism


Spells

Favored Soul

1. <Any>, <Any>, <Any>, <Any>
2. <Any>, <Any>, <Any>, <Any>
3. <Any>, <Any>, <Any>, <Any>
4. <Any>, <Any>, <Any>, <Any>
5. <Any>, <Any>, <Any>, <Any>
6. <Any>, <Any>, <Any>
7. <Any>, <Any>, <Any>
8. <Any>, <Any>

Warlock

1. Jump (2)

Enhancements (84 of 80 AP) Errors

Beacon of Hope (35 AP)

• Pleasant Disposition, Beacon of Grace, Shining Light, Beacon of Hope
  1. Good Hope I, Confidence II, Spell Critical
  2. Close Wounds III, Spell Critical, Might's Reward: Wisdom III
  3. Hope for Protection, Efficient Empower Healing, Spell Critical, Wisdom
  4. Hope for Victory, Optimism, Wisdom
  5. Hope for Success, Heal, Undying Beacon, Flame of the Favored

Elf-Arcane Archer (31 AP)

• Arcane Archer, Morphic Arrows, Metalline Arrows, Aligned Arrows, Shadow Arrows
  1. Conjure Arrows, True Strike I, Corrosive Arrows
  2. Force Arrows III, Elemental Damage
  3. Terror Arrows, Soul Magic, Elemental Damage, Wisdom
  4. Banishing Arrows, Paralyzing Arrows, Smiting Arrows, Elemental Damage

Elf (14 AP)

• Elven Accuracy
  1. Child of Nature, Keen Senses III
  2. Nothing Is Hidden III, Arcanum I
  3. Arcane Archer

Tainted Scholar (4 AP)

• Tainted Spellcasting
  1. Feigned Health III

[polymath]

This my heal/CC/support heavy AA build. Meh for damage but great for locking things down and tossing out lots of heals. Not sure how it'd do on high end reaper stuff compared to what you've been running. It's setup for 4 AP off past lives, but you can ditch the warlock for fighter and save those enhancement points and gain a feat if needed.

|17/2/1 Favored Soul/Rogue/Warlock|
|Elf|

**Level Order**

|||||
|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--
|1) Rogue|6) Favored Soul|11) Favored Soul|16) Favored Soul|
|2) Warlock|7) Favored Soul|12) Favored Soul|17) Favored Soul|
|3) Favored Soul|8) Favored Soul|13) Favored Soul|18) Favored Soul|
|4) Favored Soul|9) Rogue|14) Favored Soul|19) Favored Soul|
|5) Favored Soul|10) Favored Soul|15) Favored Soul|20) Favored Soul|

**Stats**

||**36pt**|Tome|Level Up|
|:--|--:|:--:|--:|:--
|Strength|**8**|+8|**4: INT**|
|Dexterity|**13**|+8|**8: INT**|
|Constitution|**15**|+8|**12: INT**|
|Intelligence|**16**|+8|16: WIS|
|Wisdom|**16**|+8|20: WIS|
|Charisma|**8**|+8|24: WIS|
||||28: WIS|

**Skills**

||1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19| 20||
|:--|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:|--:
||R|W|F|F|F|F|F|F|R|F|F|F|F|F|F|F|F|F|F|F||
|Disable|4|1|1|1|1|1|1||2|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|23 |
|Open Lo|4|||½|½|½|½||6|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|23|
|Search|4|1|1|1|1|1|1||2|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|23|
|Spot|4|1|1|1|1|1|1||2|1|1|1|1|1|1|1|½|1½|1|1|23 |
|Heal|2|||||||8||||1|1|1|1|1|2||2|2|21|
|Balance|4||||||||2||||||||||||6|
|Jump|4||||||||||||||||||||4|
|Haggle|4||||||||||||||||||||4|
|UMD|4||||||||||||||||||||4|
|Concent|2||||||||||||||||||||2|
|Tumble|2||||||||||||||||||||2|
|Perform|1||||||||||||||||||||1|
||44|6|6|7|7|7|7|8|14|8|8|9|9|9|9|9|9|9|10|10||

**Feats**

|||
|:--|:--|:--
|1|Point Blank Shot|
|3|Rapid Shot|
|6|Precise Shot|
|9|Quicken Spell|
|12|Empower Healing Spell|
|15|Improved Critical: Ranged|
|18|Improved Precise Shot|
|21 Epic|Overwhelming Critical|
|24 Epic|Manyshot|
|26 Destiny|Holy Strike|
|27 Epic|Blinding Speed|
|28 Destiny|Doubleshot|
|29 Destiny|Mass Frog|
|30 Epic|Precision|
|30 Legend|
|||
|3 Deity|Follower of: Silver Flame|
|8 Deity|Silver Flame Exorcism|

**Spells**

|||
|:--|:--|:--
|Favored Soul 1|<Any>, <Any>, <Any>, <Any>|
|Favored Soul 2|<Any>, <Any>, <Any>, <Any>|
|Favored Soul 3|<Any>, <Any>, <Any>, <Any>|
|Favored Soul 4|<Any>, <Any>, <Any>, <Any>|
|Favored Soul 5|<Any>, <Any>, <Any>, <Any>|
|Favored Soul 6|<Any>, <Any>, <Any>|
|Favored Soul 7|<Any>, <Any>, <Any>|
|Favored Soul 8|<Any>, <Any>|
|||
|Warlock 1|Jump (2)|

**Enhancements** (84 of 80 AP) _Errors_

Beacon of Hope (35 AP)

|||
|:--|:--|:--
|Cores|Pleasant Disposition, Beacon of Grace, Shining Light, Beacon of Hope|
|Tier 1|Good Hope I, Confidence II, Spell Critical|
|Tier 2|Close Wounds III, Spell Critical, Might's Reward: Wisdom III|
|Tier 3|Hope for Protection, Efficient Empower Healing, Spell Critical, Wisdom|
|Tier 4|Hope for Victory, Optimism, Wisdom|
|Tier 5|Hope for Success, Heal, Undying Beacon, Flame of the Favored|

Elf-Arcane Archer (31 AP)

|||
|:--|:--|:--
|Cores|Arcane Archer, Morphic Arrows, Metalline Arrows, Aligned Arrows, Shadow Arrows|
|Tier 1|Conjure Arrows, True Strike I, Corrosive Arrows|
|Tier 2|Force Arrows III, Elemental Damage|
|Tier 3|Terror Arrows, Soul Magic, Elemental Damage, Wisdom|
|Tier 4|Banishing Arrows, Paralyzing Arrows, Smiting Arrows, Elemental Damage|

Elf (14 AP)

|||
|:--|:--|:--
|Cores|Elven Accuracy|
|Tier 1|Child of Nature, Keen Senses III|
|Tier 2|Nothing Is Hidden III, Arcanum I|
|Tier 3|Arcane Archer|

Tainted Scholar (4 AP)

|||
|:--|:--|:--
|Cores|Tainted Spellcasting|
|Tier 1|Feigned Health III|

Hey there RF,

Thanks for sharing! I like the build you posted, seems like a balance of dps/heals/cc. What level reaper do you usually run with this build?

[C-Dog]

This my heal/CC/support heavy AA build. ...

That is some kind of ugly formating...

[polymath]

That is some kind of ugly formating...

Haha

[rabidfox]

That is some kind of ugly formating...

I totally copy and pasted the wrong format. Fixed now.

Hey there RF,

Thanks for sharing! I like the build you posted, seems like a balance of dps/heals/cc. What level reaper do you usually run with this build?

I think I've gone as high 5 or 6 on a character with basically no past lives, 4 reaper points, and limited gear; it kept that character from feeling like it was worthless and not contributing. It's just a slight variation of stuff I'd seen on reddit for builds, I wanted something for that newer character that could solo/trap and also still be useful in groups where I technically shouldn't be able to keep up. (edit: the warlock bit is new twist I added in off another post I saw, I'd been doing it with a fighter level)

[cru121]

Inquisitive is a strong option. Perhaps you can give up a tiny bit of DPS and add some utility to your Inquisitive?
* Be a tank (for a while). Twist Meld into Darkness.
* Be a healer. Take a bunch of FvS levels, quicken, and be useful that way. Don't be one of those FvS that never heal.
* Bring cool buffs. Go artificer and pass Deadly Weapons. Go bard and brings songs and Dimension Door. Go ranger, pass Jump, FoM, and remember your Cure spells.
* Bring CC and debuffs. Landing crowd control spells requires a dedicated character, but passive stuff like Stay Frosty, Nerve Venom, Crippling, LGS effects, sentient weapon effects, ...
* Optimize your DPS into monstrous levels. That's always useful.

Other roles.
- DC casting (FvS or other) reward dedication. And optimized gear. And past lives. And tomes. And ideally full sentient set and lot of reaper AP for best effect. And game knowledge. The more the merrier. So that kinda smells like work. Do the homework, plan ahead what DC can you realistically achieve with your resources, and if you're missing 30 DC compared to optimized builds, probably reconsider.
- Healing, on the other hand, does not require so much optimization.
- Bards... are fun. Freezes are great, if you can land them, that's why you need the FvS level. Warchanter temporary HP are relatively less important in high reaper, but still nice to have.