First-Life Human Two-Handed Fighting Paladin 18 Rogue 2 for Free-to-play players

[FTPDDO]

Who is this build for?

This build will work for anyone but it's designed for free-to-play players creating a new character with only 28-point build available. The build will perform well in groups but is optimized for soloing content. This build is not presented as an optimized end-game build with raid gear, tomes, store items, past lifes, etc. but rather is intended to work well without all those things. The race and class are free-to-play and paladin provides a really useful past-life feat if you reincarnate and start over at level 1 again.

General Plan for This Build


I am going to post videos of this build running content solo. The build isn't intended to be only for soloing, but since it's generally a good idea for new players to run content solo on lower difficulties to learn the game this build includes everything needed to solo content including reaper difficulties. I will run all content on normal and hard difficulty and will then solo reaper 4 levels above the level on 1 or 2 skull reaper. The reason for running 4 levels above is that it only comes with a -10% over the level penalty and still includes all first-time bonuses. Being 4 levels over helps tremendously as the extra power from 2 levels helps make up the power gap you have as a first-life character. Bravery bonus isn't a big deal since you want to run solo on normal initially to learn the content anyhow. I am going to post all content ran (unless I run into a technical issue) so you will see some normal, hard and even wilderness runs. It's intended for new players that want to get familiar with questing before running it.

Some difficult quests will be skipped and ran on elite as part of a level 20 and 30 clean-up run rather than on reaper as we want to get maximum favor but do not want to spend too many cycles failing content that is too difficult.

This character was born on June 7, 2020 and as I level up I will post videos and update this post with anything note-able. I'll link the level updates in this main thread which includes stat bumps, skills selected and any gear swaps (and where the gear came from). Please note I will not be leveling this character up super fast - if you want to level a first-life character super fast you can run the first life on normal to 30, then the second life on hard and then start running for favor on life 3. I want to get 5000 favor for a +2 and +5 tome each life and accumulate some gear as well. Also, it's my belief by running difficult content starting your first life you will develop better habits. Running difficult solo even helps more in this regard. NOTE: I have several other things going on besides this project so I won't be running through this life super fast, but rather spending a few hours most days on this project. Also, it is much quicker to run on Normal to 20, but I opted for a slower progression of running Normal then Hard then Reaper/Elite so I can earn my +5 tome this life and run the build on reaper even without optimized gear and past lifes.

This plan is customizable if it's not working. For example, if you are finding running Reaper to hard @ 4 levels above you can run elite 4 levels above or even 6 levels above this first life. The key is to get used to more difficult content and to get the additional favor. Even at 6 levels above you will get more than enough experience to reach level 20 and 30.

NOTE: After running through this plan and receiving feedback, I would recommend that new players run quests on Normal for the first life, Hard for the 2nd life, Elite for the 3rd life and Reaper for life 4. The build will work for your first 3 class and racial lifes so this is a more progressive approach to increasing dfficulty. Although I ran the build on a first life character on a new free-to-play account - I do have significant experience with the game that allows me to start with reaper right away. Also, if you join a group for R1 you should be able to contribute well as a first-lifer - the N/H/E/R1 progression is primarily intended for folks that solo.

Level 1 Initial Creation

Class: Rogue
Race: Human
Feats: Two-Handed Fighting, Insightful Reflexes
Starting Stats: 28 Point Build

Str: 15
Dex: 8
Con: 14
Int: 14
Wis: 10
Cha: 14

Note: Each character comes with a lesser heart. When you unlock 32-point build you can use that heart to add more stat points or save it for another life.

Skill Points

Class Skills (1 point per rank)
Balance: 4
Bluff: 4
Disable Device: 4
Haggle: 4
Jump: 4
Open Lock: 4
Search: 4
Spot: 4
Tumble: 2
Use Magic Device: 4

Cross-Class Skills (1 point per 1/2 rank)
Concentration: 2 (4)
Heal: 1 (2)

Summary by Level
Level 1 - Rogue Level
Running Quests @ Level 1 and Taking Level 2: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...43#post6331343
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...wNm6N0XWT3TGtT

Level 2 - Rogue Level
Running Quests @ Level 1 and Taking Level 2: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/515625-First-Life-Human-Two-Handed-Fighting-Paladin-18-Rogue-2-for-Free-to-play-players?p=6331387#post6331387
Video Support: https://youtu.be/bBELp_Jfjzo

Level 3 - Paladin Level
Running Quests @ Level 3 and Taking Level 4: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...38#post6331638
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...TVpCgI0nlFcTke

Level 4 - Paladin Level
Running Quests @ Level 4 and Taking Level 5: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...01#post6332101
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis..._51m0_auBFOBle

Level 5 - Paladin Level
Running Quests @ Level 5 and Taking Level 6: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...28#post6332728
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...dY_ptRqbqBfKW6

Level 6 - Paladin Level
Running Quests @ Level 6 and Taking Level 7: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...21#post6333621
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...UNauW0jgOLdnlK

Level 7 - Paladin Level
Running Quests @ Level 7 and Taking Level 8: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...38#post6334038
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...CWLk3WOeyOSRT6

Level 8 - Paladin Level
Running Quests @ Level 8 and Taking Level 9: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...34#post6335234
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...nejyGEsOlANh-L

Level 9 - Paladin Level
Running Quests @ Level 9 and Taking Level 10: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...92#post6335692
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...shvXN0-1YlsaJE

Level 10 - Paladin Level
Running Quests @ Level 10 and Taking Level 11: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...03#post6337003
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...QmVk3FZIGrYgNU

Level 11 - Paladin Level
Running Quests @ Level 11 and Taking Level 12: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...70#post6338670
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...RnhzwK11cjjtXV

Level 12 - Paladin Level
Running Quests @ Level 12 and Taking Level 13: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...28#post6339428
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...fXV3T1UaLLS9TH

Level 13 - Paladin Level
Running Quests @ Level 13 and Taking Level 14: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...63#post6339963
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...9guFlx1Fk9APxV

Level 14 - Paladin Level
Running Quests @ Level 14 and Taking 15: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...40#post6341540
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...vnsdCfZMZfu0DJ

Level 15 - Paladin Level
Running Quests @ Level 15 and Taking 16: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...48#post6341948
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...W7g3guaFmL4Jjl

Level 16 - Paladin Level
Running Quests @ Level 16 and Taking 17: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...79#post6342679
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...Dpywk5Mp65VCKe

Level 17 - Paladin Level
Running Quests @ Level 17 and Taking 18: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...24#post6342924
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...cjB7uLOWd5nGHs

Level 18 - Paladin Level
Running Quests: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...26#post6343326
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...ODzNt5nFUjwrkB

Level 19 - Paladin Level
See Level 18 above and I took level 19 and 20 after completing Questing @ Level 18

Level 20 - Paladin Level
Running Quests @ Level 20 and Taking 21: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...95#post6344895
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...1Gic_-E_MgW37r

Level 21 - Epic Level
Running Quests @ Level 21 and Taking 22: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...88#post6346788
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...fqucrhiLbV_clR

Level 22 - Epic Level
Running Quests @ 22 and Taking 23: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...77#post6348677
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...Hju2l6aOBzWkyI

Level 23 - Epic Level
Running Quests @ 23 and Taking 24: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...05#post6348705
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...xrgp9-9GRXDLTK

Level 24 - Epic Level
Running Quests @ Level 24 and Taking 25: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...09#post6349109
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...OlqdRCjBauytq_

Level 25 - Epic Level
Running Quests @ Level 25 and Taking 26: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...97#post6349397
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...Mr_THNo9PV31zP

Level 26 - Epic Level
Running Quests @ Level 26 and Taking 27: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...74#post6349574
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...DwXSCaRr22MbkJ

Level 27 - Epic Level
Running Quests @ Level 27 and Taking 28: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...99#post6349999
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...BJP1J6_jJg7xbF

Level 28 - Epic Level
Running Quests @ Level 28 and Taking Levels 29 and 30: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...35#post6350635
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...EI6tyLE7Fhy6lL

Level 29 - Epic Level
See Level 28 above and I took level 29 and 30 after completing Questing @ Level 28

Level 30 - Epic Level
Running Quests @ Level 30 followed by Epic and Heroic Reincarnations: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...80#post6359180
Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...4ah_3k1M2VXXeX

Video Support
The video support is intended to be more of a reference material rather than something that is watched all the way through. If you are having trouble with a specific quest I would suggest looking at the reaper version of the quest where I am usually being more careful with what I do. The videos are commercial-free but I am certainly not a professional. The first few levels there were some issues with voice capture being too high resulting in breathing and too many other noises (apologies), but as I progressed by level some of the issues were worked out or I made some small improvements. I recorded virtually everything I did (90%+ is definitely a reasonable estimate) but ran into a few technical issues and wasn't able to record a few. There is a large gap of missing videos from levels 17-19 quests. I will post those future lifes preferably when I am running those on reaper mode before 20. This life I ran those at level 20+ on Elite due to the level lockout.

Cumulative List of PITA quests saved for favor cleanup @ 20 or 30
Level 2 Stealthy Repossession - difficult quest for new players - won't be run on reaper so will be run as part of level 30 favor clean-up N/H/E
Level 4 Proof is the Poison - difficult quest for new players - won't be run on reaper so will be run as part of level 30 favor clean-up N/H/E
Level 6 The Price of Freedom - difficult mechanics for new players - won't be run on reaper so will be run as part of level 30 favor clean-up N/H/E
Level 6 Gladewatch Outpost Defense - difficult protect NPC mission for new players with many reaper spawns - won't be run on reaper so will be run as part of level 30 favor clean-up N/H/E
Level 7: Temple of Elemental Evil Part I and II - Difficult mechanics - won't be run on reaper so will be run as part of level 30 favor clean-up N/H/E
Level 7: The Pit - Difficult mechanics - won't be run on reaper so will be run as part of level 30 favor clean-up N/H/E
Level 8: Faithfully Departed - Difficult mechanics with two-handed fighting specialty combined with reapers/champions killing the Venerated - run on normal + hard and skipped on reaper
Level 8: The Xorian Cyper - Never tried soloing this with bank account and likely won't - will run with guildies as part of level 30 favor clean-up or it might be skipped entirely - N/H/E
Level 11: From Beyond the Grave - difficult mechanics for new players - won't be run on reaper so will be run as part of level 30 favor clean-up N/H/E
Level 11: Desert Caravan - Protect mission skipped on reaper
Level 11: Tomb of the Tormented - Painful to solo without a way to damage enemies killing the rats (typically AOE spellcasting or artificer rune arm)
Level 11: Tomb of the Forbidden - Can't be solo'd - requires at least 2 people
Level 12: Cursed Crypt - Flagging quests are on PITA list
Level 13: Memoirs of an Illusory Larcener - Hireling AI is glitchy in this quest - saving it for level 21

Note: As long as I reach 5,000 favor or higher to get my tome I may skip the PITA quests permanently. I will only run if required to get to 5,000 favor

** NOTE: These are quests that I won't be running on Reaper during heroic levels but will be running on Reaper @ Level 30. This is more of an efficiency play than a difficulty issue.

DDO STORE COUPON CODES USED AND SPECIAL BUNDLES PURCHASED

DDOFREEQUESTS: Grants all non-expansion packs in the game for free - Expired August 31, 2020
SOV2POT: Free 50% Sovereign XP Elixir - Expired Aug 6 even though it was advertised through August 8
HAPPY14: Free Dragon Sentient Jewel - good through December 31, 2020 (1 per account)
99 point Menace of the Underdark Expansion Deep Discount - Expired August 31, 2020 (regular price 2495)
99 point Shadowfell Conspiracy Expansion Deep Discount - Expired August 31, 2020 (regular price 2495)

Please take advantage of these discounts

Final Enhancements after Taking Level 20

Knights of the Chalice
Cores
- Slayer of Evil
- Courage of Heaven
- Slayer of Evil II
- Improved Courage of Heaven
- Slayer of Evil III
Tier 1
- Holy Combatant
- Improved Second Strikes x 3
Tier 2
- Adept Combatant
- Divine Might x 3
- Critical Mastery x3
- Exalted Cleave
- Melee Power Boost
Tier 3
- Holy Combatant
- Charisma
Tier 4
- Knights Training
- Censure Demons
- Vigor of Life
Tier 5
- Ascendancy
- Censure Outsiders
- Vigor of Life
- Avenging Cleave
- Holy Retribution

Sacred Defender
Cores
- Holy Bastion
- Sacred Defense
- Divine Righteousness
- Redemption
Tier 1
- Extra Lay on Hands x3
- Durable Defense x3
Tier 2
- Resilient Defense x3
- Defense Boost x3
- Instinctive Defense x 3
Tier 3
- Constitution
Tier 4
- Swift Defense

Human
Core
- Skill Boost
- Constitution
- Melee Power Boost
Tier 1
- Improved Recovery
- Awareness x3
Tier 2
- Great Weapon Aptitude x3
Tier 3
- Improved Recovery
- Heroism
Tier 4
- Greater Heroism

[FTPDDO]

The following quests were run at level 1

Heyton's Rest - Normal Difficulty
The Storehouse's Secret - Normal Difficulty
The Cannith Crystal - Normal Difficulty
The Collaborator - Normal Difficulty

Favor Earned: 10
DDO Points Earned: 50 (first time bonus for earning 5 favor on the server)

Notable items earned in the video

• Level 1 Chilled 1 Quarterstaff of Deadly 1 (random item from harbor guard)
• Level 1 Rugged Belt (adds 5 hp - end reward for Storehouse's secret)
• Level 1 Spear Bane bracers (4 damage reduction from piercing damage - end reward from the Cannith Crystal)

Video support: https://youtu.be/RCcZyw2KvMY

Leveling Up From 2 to 3

Level Up Stat: None
Feats: Evasion (auto-granted)

Class Skills (1 point per rank)
Balance: +1 (5 total)
Bluff: +1 (5 total)
Disable Device: +1 (5 total)
Haggle: +1 (5 total)
Jump: +1 (5 total)
Open Lock: +1 (5 total)
Search: +1 (5 total)
Spot: +1 (5 total)
Tumble: +0 (2 total)
Use Magic Device: +1 (5 total)

Cross-Class Skills (1 point per 1/2 rank)
Concentration: .5 (2 total)
Heal: 1 (2 total)

[JohnnyArkham]

My apologies if I'm missing this somewhere amidst the videos and posts.
Is there a level by level breakdown of which Classes you're taking with this build?
I see that you took Rogue at level 1, and I realize that there is only one more Rogue level involved.
As a total newb, it's not obvious to me at what level you took that other Rogue level.
Thanks so much.

[Hobgoblin]

My apologies if I'm missing this somewhere amidst the videos and posts.
Is there a level by level breakdown of which Classes you're taking with this build?
I see that you took Rogue at level 1, and I realize that there is only one more Rogue level involved.
As a total newb, it's not obvious to me at what level you took that other Rogue level.
Thanks so much.

usually its around 9 or 10 it can vary on a multiple past life char depending on tomes

[Coffey]

My apologies if I'm missing this somewhere amidst the videos and posts.
Is there a level by level breakdown of which Classes you're taking with this build?
I see that you took Rogue at level 1, and I realize that there is only one more Rogue level involved.
As a total newb, it's not obvious to me at what level you took that other Rogue level.
Thanks so much.

The first two levels of the build are Rogue and can be seen at the end of Questing @ Level 1 and Taking Level 2.

https://youtu.be/RCcZyw2KvMY

[JohnnyArkham]

The first two levels of the build are Rogue and can be seen at the end of Questing @ Level 1 and Taking Level 2.

https://youtu.be/RCcZyw2KvMY

Great, thanks so much!

[Hobgoblin]

Great, thanks so much!

you can space them out though as i suggested - it gives you more skill points in one go that lets you play catch up with any skills u missed

[FTPDDO]

The following quests were run at level 2

Heyton's Rest - Hard Difficulty
The Collaborator - Hard Difficulty
Stopping the Sahuagin - Normal Difficulty
Redemption - Normal Difficulty
Sacrifices - Normal + Hard Difficulty
Necromancer's Doom - Normal + Hard Difficulty
Misery's Peak - Normal Difficulty

Favor Earned: 26 (36 total after level 2)
DDO Points Earned: 25 (first time bonus for earning 25 favor on the server)

Notable items earned in the video

• Level 1 Protective Gloves x2 (with Shield Clicky - very important when we start reapers - from Necromancer's Doom chest)
• Level 1 Anger's Step x2 (with 2 Expeditious Retreat 25% movement increase clickies - 20 min total - from Sacrifices end reward)
• Level 1 Expeditious Boots (with 1 Expeditious Retreat 25% movement increase clicky - from Stopping the Sahuagin chest)
• Level 1 Anger's Gift (+1 Strength +1 Resistance to Saves and +2 attack set bonus - from Misery's Peak end reward)
• Level 1 Goggle's of Insight (+1 attack bonus - from Necromancer's Doom end reward)

Video support: https://youtu.be/bBELp_Jfjzo

Leveling Up from 2 to 3

Level Up Stat: None
Feats: Magical Training - I take this so when I get spells in a few levels I have more spell points and if I run out they will regenerate enough to continue casting spells. I may swap this out at higher levels.
Diety: Sovereign Host (NOTE: Video indicates Aureon but I now recommend sovereign host as unyielding sovereignty will help heal through the plague reaper debuff and quarterstaff benefits aren't important enough justify Aureon over Sovereign Host)

Class Skills (1 point per rank)
Concentration: +0 (2 total)
Heal: +0 (2 total)

Cross-Class Skills (1 point per 1/2 rank)
Balance: +0 (5 total)
Bluff: +0 (5 total)
Disable Device: +1 (6 total)
Haggle: +0 (5 total)
Jump: +0 (5 total)
Open Lock: +0 (5 total)
Search: +1 (6 total)
Spot: +.5 (5.5 total)
Tumble: +0 (2 total)
Use Magic Device: +0 (5 total)

[FTPDDO]

I don't have near your health or spell points somehow..

Here is a break-down:

Constitution
Starting: 14
Item: 2
Ship Buff (Old Sully's Grog Cellar guild Level 17): 2
Total = 18

Heroic Durability (auto-granted to all characters at level 1): 30
Improved Heroic Durability (auto-granted to all characters at level 5, 10 and 15): 5
Paladin Levels (10x4): 40
Rogue Levels (6x2): 12
Ship Buff (Hag's Apothocary Guild level 45): 20
Constitution Bonus: (4 x 6 levels): 24
Hit Point Item (Rugged Belt): 5
Profane Hit Point Item (Marguerite's Necklace): 7
Sacred Defender Points (1 x 6): 6
Total Hit Points Outside Reaper: 149

Reaper Bonuses:
Reaper Defense 1: 10
Points Spent on Grim Barricade Tree (1x8): 8

Total Hit Points In Reaper: 168

Oddly I was only showing 145 hit points at the beginning of level 6 so something is not stacking properly.

By the end of level 6 I earned 2 reaper points as I repeated all the level 1 and 2 quests. I also upgraded my con item to a +3. One of my points in grim barricade was also spent on a point of constitution bringing my constitution to 20 inside reaper.

So inside reaper my hit points went up another 8 for the 2 points spent and another 6 for the extra constitution bringing my total hit points to 182 inside reaper.

For spell points this is what I had:

Magical Training (level 3 feat): 80
Ship Buff (Arcane Sanctum Guild Level 28): 25
4 Paladin Levels: 20
Total: 125

On top of this ship buffs add alot of power at lower levels that you are missing out on so I highly recommend you find a guild. Check out the guild area on the Cannith Server forum and consider posting a request to join a guild in the main Cannith forum.

[Diefree]

So I messed up I went to high above reaper for borderlands. I bought the Underdark expansion with lesser tome of learning so I'll prob just skip ahead.

[FTPDDO]

The following quests were run at level 3

Korthos
The Storehouse's Secret - Hard Difficulty
The Cannith Crystal - Hard Difficulty
Stopping the Sahuagin - Hard Difficulty
Redemption - Hard Difficulty
Misery's Peak - Hard Difficulty

Keep on the Borderlands
Wilderness Run - Explorers, Rares and Slayer
Watch Your Step - Normal + Hard Difficulty
Violent Delights - Normal + Hard Difficulty
Treasure Hunt - Normal + Hard Difficulty
Obstructing the Orcs - Normal + Hard Difficulty
The Hobgoblin Horde - Normal + Hard Difficulty
Caged Beast - Normal + Hard Difficulty
The Bugbear Bandits - Normal + Hard Difficulty
Total Chaos - Normal + Hard Difficulty

Favor Earned: 50 (86 total after level 3)
DDO Points Earned: 25 (first time bonus for earning 50 favor on the server)

Notable items earned in the videos

• Level 1 Mount (Horse) - 80% movement speed bonus in public areas and wilderness areas
• Level 3 Alkaline 12 Leather Armor of Cold Resistance 7 (12% acid absorb and 7 cold resistance - random loot from an end reward)
• Level 3 Seeker +1 Spot +4 goggles (random loot from a chest)
• Level 1 Granite Grippers (+1 strength and blue slot - from Treasure Hunt end chest)
• Level 1 Wisdom +1 Cold Absorption 10% Cloak (from Auction House to deal with plat limits)
• Level 2 Constitution +2 Ring (from Auction House to deal with plat limits)

Video support:
Keep on the Borderlands Wilderness Run: https://youtu.be/5CfIXxoawkc
How to Purchase Mount (Horse) and Weapon with Keep on the Borderlands Ingredients: https://youtu.be/DuN-2oMJaBU
Keep on the Borderlands Quests on Normal: https://youtu.be/AK4-rdC03xI
Korthos Clean Up - Remaining Hard Quests: https://youtu.be/gmXVYID43zk
Keep on the Borderlands Quests on Hard: https://youtu.be/UbMbExKTG74
Inventory Clean Up and Taking Level 4: https://youtu.be/zLTiW76Y-d0

Leveling Up from 3 to 4

Level Up Stat: Stength (Base 15 to Base 16)
Feats: Divine Grace - auto-granted (bonus to save based on charisma score)

Class Skills (1 point per rank)
Concentration: +0 (2 total)
Heal: +0 (2 total)

Cross-Class Skills (1 point per 1/2 rank)
Balance: +0 (5 total)
Bluff: +0 (5 total)
Disable Device: +1 (7 total)
Haggle: +0 (5 total)
Jump: +0 (5 total)
Open Lock: +0 (5 total)
Search: +1 (7 total)
Spot: +.5 (6 total)
Tumble: +0 (2 total)
Use Magic Device: +0 (5 total)

[Folund]

Hello, i wanted to restart DDO as a Paladin and i think due to my french language native (But i'm not so bad in english) i will mostly play Solo.

You're build seems what i seek but i got several questions :

Why 14 int ? Is it just for insightful reflexes/skills points ? and it's worth ? No better stats to up lvl 1 ?

2 levels of rogues are mandatory ? isnt one level enough to get disable/open lock ect ?

The build is thinked for be played in heavy armor and a Two handed weapon right ?

If we want to soloing, An hireling rogue seems to be better than sacrifie ourself into multiclassing no ? Or maybe the one/two level spash rogue doesnt hurt that much a paladin ?

[FTPDDO]

Why 14 int ? Is it just for insightful reflexes/skills points ? and it's worth ? No better stats to up lvl 1 ?

The build is based around splashing rogue for evasion and trapping. Some trade-offs are made to make this happen. To make trapping feasible with just 2 levels of rogue the 14 int is necessary to have enough skill points for disable device and search while taking paladin levels. Insightful reflexes is not an absolute requirement - but since paladin has cleave and greater cleave as enhancements it provides some extra feats and human provides a bonus feat. Those extra feats are used for survivability on this first-life character. I am also making the assumption that int gear will be used for trapping anyhow so taking insightful reflexes makes gearing simplier.

The reason why 2 levels of rogue instead of 1 is that with 2 levels a rogue is auto-granted evasion. This means when making a reflex save against traps and spells I take no damage instead of half damage. The build is designed to wear light armor instead of heavy armor. Although heavy armor gives more PRR light armor benefits include higher dodge cap and the ability to take advantage of evasion.

There was recently a "hardcore" league which is a 3 month permadeath event. Someone tracked all deaths while they are online and here are the results: https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...ath-Statistics

Traps were responsible for nearly 1/3 of deaths and the largest single killer. Some of the other top killers like kobold shamans kill people with lightning bolt on elite which a high reflex save + evasion will help against.

In addition, one of the goals of this build is to earn reaper xp as it's the fastest way to add character power today. Disabling the traps provides an XP bonus and takes very little time.

2 levels of rogues are mandatory ? isnt one level enough to get disable/open lock ect ?

The build is thinked for be played in heavy armor and a Two handed weapon right ?

The most important thing is the best build for you is the one that you enjoy playing and feel comfortable with. Rogue levels and trapping isn't mandatory - they help for the reasons I listed above but there are players that forge ahead without those things and succeed. There are other tactics you can take such as running quests with heavy traps/caster damage 5-6 several levels above the base level on elite or just skip those and run them at cap for favor. You can learn how to avoid most trap damage with timing and positioning but since this build is designed for a first-lifer I am making the assumption most new people will not know how to avoid trap damage with timing and positioning on their first life. It's also my experience that disabling traps helps me remember where they are in future lifes even when I am not a trapper and just want to avoid taking damage without disabling.

Advantages of Pure 20 Paladin
- More Hp at heroic levels (20% hp bonus which isn't available with light armor)
- Accelerated two-handed fighting and offensive feats compared to splashing 2 rogue resulting in better dps at lower levels
- Better PRR (maybe 2-4% more damage reduction)
- Ability to take advantage of capstone at epic levels

Advantages of Splashing 2 Rogue
- Trapping and lock picking
- Evasion for traps and caster damage
- Higher dodge to avoid getting hit
- Earlier empowered healing for improved self-healing at lower levels

If we want to soloing, An hireling rogue seems to be better than sacrifie ourself into multiclassing no ? Or maybe the one/two level spash rogue doesnt hurt that much a paladin ?

Unless there was a change rogue hirelings are only available for turbine points or astral shards at heroic levels (1-20). As this build is designed to work for a new free-to-play player I wanted to make the assumption that no money would be spent on gameplay and that DDO points would be used for longer term benefits such as buying epic destinies, the 2 expansions on sale through 8/31, etc.

Also, I've been in many quests where a rogue hireling failed to find and disable a deadly trap even when the owner had past lifes granting maximum benefits to the hireling.

When building for an end game - running high reapers especially but secondarily raiding people will build more of a specialist min/max build. What this means is that they will build with some goal in mind and dump all else - such as maximum dps with a melee or maximum dc with a spellcaster. A high percentage of current builds on the forums are focused on level 30- this build is not.

For this build designed for first-life free to play players I am proposing more of a generalist build that isn't optimized for an end game role, but rather dealing with the realities of questing to 30 solo. Traps can be very deadly in this game and my reason for offering this build over pure paladin is solely because it makes the learning curve less painful with regards to traps and spellcaster damage.

For levels 1-15 quests I will be running those solo on reaper at 4 levels above and selectively picking quests to skip on reaper (maybe 10% of the quests) and run on elite - in some cases well above the level just for favor. For level 16-19 quests I might selectively run a few on reaper but due to reaper restrictions will probably run many on elite at level 20 or higher. For epic level quests my focus is solely on getting skill tomes and filling out epic destines this life so the goal will be to run sagas on normal/hard - no concerns about reaper at all for epic levels this first life.

Then my plan is to immediately TR at 30. As a full free-to-play player tr'ing not only provides some additional power in the form of epic and heroic past lifes, but it allows me to earn more favor to unlock additional things.

Of course some people might get bored Tr'ing so there are other options such as having one character at cap and another Tr'ing or spending significant time at cap before Tr'ing. If you plan to spend significant time at cap then pure paladin would likely be better as running high skull reapers and raiding is mostly about filling roles.

[Folund]

Thanks for the awnser !

way more clear for me now, i'm kinda sad to not play with heavy armor because i like it lol.

Do you think i can just splash one level rogue for the ability to pick locks and disable traps ? As i want to be in heavy armor for roleplaying, is one level dip good too ? or a waste ?

[FTPDDO]

Thanks for the awnser !

way more clear for me now, i'm kinda sad to not play with heavy armor because i like it lol.

Do you think i can just splash one level rogue for the ability to pick locks and disable traps ? As i want to be in heavy armor for roleplaying, is one level dip good too ? or a waste ?

Yes that would work just fine. I think that's a fine way to go - unfortunately even 1 level of rogue slows down your feat progression by 3 levels just like taking 2 rogue levels, but you can wear heavy armor and get the 20% hp bonus which in some situations is better than evasion (carnage reapers for example)

To the extent a quest has a trap before the trap box - and the trap kills you - just run it several levels over the level for favor. There will only be a small handful of those.

[FTPDDO]

At level 30 I mostly ran quests on Reaper 4 Skull and some raids with 2 friends. I also joined a few public raids and ran a few quests for final favor-clean-up. I earned over 300,000 reaper xp at level 30.

Video Support: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...4ah_3k1M2VXXeX

I earned all favor rewards currently available in the game except the falconry tree due mostly to logistical issues. Earning the Falconry tree requires completion of the twilight forge pre-raid which we know how to complete, but interest level in that pack is very low among my friends and a few others will need this pre-raid shortly. Since I am not in a hurry to get the falconry tree we decided to postpone running this pre-raid until a few other people were ready to run it - possibly next life for me. The pre-raid can be solo'd with some builds, but not this build since hirelings are not allowed.

DDO Point Update
100-favor run on 7 servers: 875
2300-favor on Hardcore: 925
6300-favor on main server: 2,325
Menace of the Underdark Expansion Purchase: -99
The Shadowfell Conspiracy Purchase: -99
Shared Bank Purchase: -1121
Epic Destinies Purchase: -995
Warforged Purchase: -248
Grand Total: 1.563 Available Points

Permanent Account Unlocks Earned (DDO Points)

• Menace of the Underdark Expansion
• The Shadowfell Conspiracy Expansion
• Shared Bank Access
• Epic Destinies
• Warforged

Permanent Server Unlocks Earned on Sarlona

• Drow Race
• 32-Point Build
• Favored Soul Class
• Veteran Status II (Ability to start new characters at level 7)
• Artificer Class

Permanent Character Unlocked Earned on This Character

• Vistani Enhancement Tree
• Inquisitive Enhancement Tree
• Harper Agent Enhancement Tree

Key Items Earned Permanently on This Character

• Key to Eveningstar (teleport clicky to Eveningstar)
• Small Augment Bag
• Large Ingredient Bag
• Large Gem Bag
• Large Collectable Bag
• +5 Constitution Tome
• +2 Intelligence Tome
• Lesser and Greater Harper Pins
• Death Walker' Cloak III (For Earning 10 reaper points on the hardcore server)

With my current DDO point balance I will easily earn one more expansion next life.

Reaper Status Update
372,285 Reaper XP
19 Reaper Points

From a pace perspective, this would mean running R1 while heroic leveling and R4 at level 30 would earn you reaper wings (75 points) in roughly 15 lifes.

Crafting Update
Crafting XP: 142,142
Crafting Level: 219
Essences Earned This Life: Just Under 40,000
Essences Used to Level-Up Crafting: Approximately 35,000
Collectables Earned
Tier 1

• Rare: 54
• Uncommon: 233
• Common: 783

Tier 2

• Rare: 98
• Uncommon: 377
• Common: 1350

Tier 3

• Rare: 62
• Uncommon: 179
• Common: 889

Tier 4

• Rare: 12
• Uncommon: 47
• Common: 122

Tier 5

• Rare: 12
• Uncommon: 60
• Common: 173

Tier 6

• Rare: 8
• Uncommon: 32
• Common: 141

Tier 1-3 are much higher because even in higher level quests "bag drops" tend to be lower-level collectables. I also earned 11 small eberron dragonshard fragments which can be converted into purified eberron dragonshards for crafting.

From a resource scarcity perspective, essences are relatively easy to get if you break down items for essences. Most Collectables and purified eberron dragonshards are harder to obtain so you should use these judiciously.

Raiding: 320 Threads of Fate earned

[FTPDDO]

Before you reincarnate it's a great time to consider upgrading from free-to-play.

First and most importantly, you can fully experience and enjoy the game for free if you can't afford to make any purchases. However, if you can afford to make some upgrades and support the game that would be great. Making any purchase will permanently upgrade you to premium which provides 2 additional character slots, removes the low-level platinum limits and sets your limit to a little over 4 million, allows 50 auctions at a time instead of 1, and provides you with monster manual volume I which allows you to earn points and experience. It also grants access to the astral shard auction house and at some point astral shards will drop for you with a silver dice roll so that you can start selling items.

Based on your budget there are many options to choose from:

Low-Budget Options (All of these unlock premium permanently)

OPTION 1:Cheapest Option: $7.99 600 DDO points purchase (700 points during double bonus points sale)

OPTION 2: Best Option: The Dungeon and Dragons Online Starter Pack from the DDO Market for $9.99 which includes:

• A level 3 permanent cleric hireling with divine vitality. Every 5 minutes you can summon her to restore your spell points and then dismiss her.
• 5 3-hour 30% Experience Elixirs per server.
• 250 DDO Points

With this starter pack option you will get the hireling and experience on your main server and hardcore and then can eventually transfer the items to your main server to get double rewards effectively. Hardcore season 3 allows access to non-VIPS, but it's uncertain if this will be the case in the future.

OPTION 3: 1 Month VIP Subscription: $14.99 and includes 500 points (as part of the 500 points per month perk)

• Allows you to open on elite/reaper your 2nd life for the next 30 days.
• 10% VIP Experience Bonus for 30 Days

Medium-Budget Options (All of these unlock premium permanently)

OPTION 1: Purchase the newest expansion from the DDO Market - currently Feywild which will be available in a few weeks (expected to be around $40)

• New expansions are generally not available for DDO points for 3-6 months after release. So this is the only way to enjoy an expansion pack when it's first released. At the time of this posting, a feywild expansion is expected to be released in the DDO Market within a few weeks.
• The expansion packs generally include races, iconics and or enhancement trees that aren't available in the DDO for quite some time
• Expansions often come with perks not available in the DDO Store
• I don't recommend this for newer or casual players because the recent raid design is tilted towards experienced power gamers with powerful characters even on Normal difficulty. It is difficult to find the "Too Hot To Handle" raid for example and random pick-up groups often fail this raid. If you are in a raiding guild you should look at this, otherwise I wouldn't make a cash purchase for this expansion.

OPTION 2: Best Option: $59.99 6300 Point Purchase (8850 points during double bonus points sale)

• This will allow you to purchase the Ravenloft and Sharn expansions for 4990 points
• This gives you points towards the purchase of 3995 10th anniversary of free to play launch bundle which includes a supreme +8 tome, shared bank space upgrade and a true heart of blood (20 tokens of the twelve). If you buy while there is a double points special it covers 3860 of the 3995 point cost. At the time of this posting a double bonus point sale is active for 2 more days.

Higher-Budget Options (All of these unlock premium permanently)

I won't list options here as people with higher budgets might want to buy multiple things. First and foremost if you plan to play this game for 15 hours per week and have the budget, VIP is a very good deal. In addition to gaining full access to hardcore you can open on elite, gain a 10% VIP bonus for XP and gain access to most races and classes.

The higher tier expansions often include perks increasing character power and convenience items such as teleport clickies to go right to the expansion area.

The $199.99 DDO point purchase option provides the most points per $ spent. If you have the budget for this option it will allow you to purchase the 10th anniversary of free to play launch bundle which includes a supreme +8 tome, shared bank space upgrade and a true heart of blood (20 tokens of the twelve). In addition you can buy races/classes/iconics as they go on sale and purchase convenience items such as additional inventory space, additional bank space and better storage bags.

[SouCarioca]

Hello, i wanted to restart DDO as a Paladin and i think due to my french language native (But i'm not so bad in english) i will mostly play Solo.

You're build seems what i seek but i got several questions :

Why 14 int ? Is it just for insightful reflexes/skills points ? and it's worth ? No better stats to up lvl 1 ?

2 levels of rogues are mandatory ? isnt one level enough to get disable/open lock ect ?

The build is thinked for be played in heavy armor and a Two handed weapon right ?

If we want to soloing, An hireling rogue seems to be better than sacrifie ourself into multiclassing no ? Or maybe the one/two level spash rogue doesnt hurt that much a paladin ?

My first life build (on second life) was a THF Paladin, though pure. So first note is that there are no rogue hirelings (unless purchased from DDO Store possibly) before level 20. If you want external trapping, you need a group.

As to French, unless you cannot speak two words of English, even with an all-american group, you will be fine. Most ingame chat deals with very simple things like : "Help, I am dead" (and yes, DDO players are like the military: 'leave no man behind' so rest assured someone will help 98% of the time), or "brb, selling and leveling". After someone heals you, or helps you resurrect, always say 'ty'. It is just polite. The real challenge is learning the specific DDO acronyms and shortcuts. ior1 = I opened Reaper1.

That said, I am also 100% certain there are guilds for French players, most likely multiple ones. I live in Brazil and on Orien server there are multiple level 200 Brazilian guilds.

There is a considerably new powerful system of random loot (prizes) that is making the game MUCH more playable for new players. When you see an item, pay close attention to see if the color around the icon is a light blue. This indicates something more powerful. Dark Blue is the best, and is almost always named.

Pure Paladin will be more powerful in the end at level 20 especially, but if you reach level 20, you will have other things to boost your power too. If you stick to the game that far, then I will suggest three significant goals for you as a free player:

1) Learn the game, and read the Wiki as much as you can for any questions. It is incredibly helpful.

2) Seek out to reach 1750 Total Favor. Achieving this will allow you to create builds later that start with 32 stat points. A nice plus. Right now, Total Favor might seem like Chinese to you, but it goes like this: each quest has a number of 'favor' points you get for finishing. At Casual and Normal, you get the base value. So if a quest had 4 favor points you would get four. If you finish it on Hard, you get 8, and if you finish it on Elite or harder you get the maximum of 12 (3x the base). Groups are very helpful to achieve this, but with so many more experienced players, a tip is to warn them you are a noob. They will know and be more attentive to you with advice: "once you are in, run left" etc. and your character's vulnerability.

3) Save your DDO points, all of them, and do not spend any in a store. At level 20, if still playing and enjoying the game, use 995 DDO points to unlock Epic Destinies. This is THE key to level 20-30. It is a series of enhancements that give you super powers to allow you to continue to evolve and get stronger. Both these perks 2) and 3) will be available to all characters after on the server you are located

[Folund]

My first life build (on second life) was a THF Paladin, though pure. So first note is that there are no rogue hirelings (unless purchased from DDO Store possibly) before level 20. If you want external trapping, you need a group.

As to French, unless you cannot speak two words of English, even with an all-american group, you will be fine. Most ingame chat deals with very simple things like : "Help, I am dead" (and yes, DDO players are like the military: 'leave no man behind' so rest assured someone will help 98% of the time), or "brb, selling and leveling". After someone heals you, or helps you resurrect, always say 'ty'. It is just polite. The real challenge is learning the specific DDO acronyms and shortcuts. ior1 = I opened Reaper1.

That said, I am also 100% certain there are guilds for French players, most likely multiple ones. I live in Brazil and on Orien server there are multiple level 200 Brazilian guilds.

There is a considerably new powerful system of random loot (prizes) that is making the game MUCH more playable for new players. When you see an item, pay close attention to see if the color around the icon is a light blue. This indicates something more powerful. Dark Blue is the best, and is almost always named.

Pure Paladin will be more powerful in the end at level 20 especially, but if you reach level 20, you will have other things to boost your power too. If you stick to the game that far, then I will suggest three significant goals for you as a free player:

1) Learn the game, and read the Wiki as much as you can for any questions. It is incredibly helpful.

2) Seek out to reach 1750 Total Favor. Achieving this will allow you to create builds later that start with 32 stat points. A nice plus. Right now, Total Favor might seem like Chinese to you, but it goes like this: each quest has a number of 'favor' points you get for finishing. At Casual and Normal, you get the base value. So if a quest had 4 favor points you would get four. If you finish it on Hard, you get 8, and if you finish it on Elite or harder you get the maximum of 12 (3x the base). Groups are very helpful to achieve this, but with so many more experienced players, a tip is to warn them you are a noob. They will know and be more attentive to you with advice: "once you are in, run left" etc. and your character's vulnerability.

3) Save your DDO points, all of them, and do not spend any in a store. At level 20, if still playing and enjoying the game, use 995 DDO points to unlock Epic Destinies. This is THE key to level 20-30. It is a series of enhancements that give you super powers to allow you to continue to evolve and get stronger. Both these perks 2) and 3) will be available to all characters after on the server you are located

Now i hesitate so hard lol

The point is do i really miss a lot of content/xp/loot if i can't disable device and open lock ? Because i love the paladin class and maybe want to go pure, but dont want to miss a nice free xp or die due to a trap :/

[Coffey]

Great work on the leveling guide so far FTPDDO