Mitheriana, Transformed to Grace

[Tilomere]

Mitheriana, Transformed to Grace

This build is dedicated to an amazing person who is missed. Not only was she an amazing DDO player, she was an amazing person who appreciated the legends of classic rock and alternative music, and definitely did it her way. This is for you mith:



My original Lich, with Axe PM/EK build didn't have the armor penetration I wanted to do more recent content. But THF and EK was still powerful enough that tempest, zombie, and THF was nerfed. I wanted to come back to EK, but Tempest nerf meant I needed to swap to SoS/ESoS at the time (no raid falchion yet) and change it into a leveling build to make up for loss of crit profile in nerf. Original PM/EK also had to go con-based for disintegrate saves in reaper, while this can go strength for more damage due to divine grace saves bonus. Original build also lacked a trance, which locked out dire charge, which that and trip this has access to. This makes this build have a far more graceful flow of combat.

So I planned each charted course testing leveling builds, walking each and every highway, starting with inquisitor to learn combat mechanics, then paladin because Feydark Illusionist was new to learn melee defense, stress testing them in legendary reaper solo at 20 to learn enough about leveling in legendary reaper to come back to this. This has the armor penetration to gracefully transition through any content, including legendary reaper at level 20. Paladin was neutered in update 48.4, but I was planning on dumping it anyways since paladin lacks self-healing and CC while leveling, and charisma paladin is bound to high level Unyielding Sentinal for knockdown immunity, and as such that build is dead anyways as soon as ED nerfs arrive.

In that time, a raid falchion was introduced so this build could be extended into a cap build as well. Negative healing, zombie, and wraith also got the axe with loss of exceptional spell power, elimination of incorporeal in reaper, and zombie nerfs, but I was already planning on dumping undead form entirely for armor penetration. Lack of passive death aura healing makes one more vulnerable to dying 100-0 in trip, so had to go strength based to reduce that.

I traveled each and every highway, and what I've learned is that SSG generally targets and neuters individual over performing builds like paladin, and what you should look at instead are loosely grouped builds. For example, this build can be adapted to a bunch of double recon + AoE damage builds, using arti or bf or Mechanus Recon SLA. Arti or wiz or sorc will give recon. WF or BF or arti construct essence feats will enable repair healing. Dance of Death (any combat style), THF, or Bastard Swords (including sunblades)/Dwarven Axes SWF or S&B with strikethrough will give AoE attacking. Because we are gearing both repair and positive energy amplification, and powering spells with potency, we can also use heal instead of recon spell, opening up alchemist, cleric, fvs, and druid as well. For example, a BF 1 Paladin, 14 Cleric War Domain, 5 Ranger, SWF + DoD Tempest + Falconry + Inquisitor will have strike through on SWF from DoD, haste boost from tempest, holy sword, armor pen, plus recon SLA and heal. SWF, but otherwise same gear, same double healing + AoE dps, but with a cleric icon instead. 15 arti 5 ranger DoD will have double recon and AoE auto attack on SWF or TWF combat style. Druid is interesting, in that it has heal + regenerate, so it doesn't need recon for double healing. 15 Arti 5 barb is very nice as well. With paladin, I did what I had to do, and just dumped it and moved on.

End up with a build with a bit of everything. Some healing, some CC, some damage, some tankyness, some debuffing. It works fairly gracefully in any lower difficulty that allows enough self healing to go through. I noticed on BF paladin lives that there wasn't generally healers for melee in about 80% of groups, so one needs to build to parallel solo to play within most groups, so this does that even better. This does a bit of everything, so whatever is missing in a group, or everything sometimes, it can gracefully provide. You can even twist healing and with a solid mana pool, spell power, and defenses act as a healer. And now the end is here, but it isn't so much a single build, as much as a collection of builds you can make.

I'll state my case, of which I'm certain. SSG wants to nerf leveling more than cap play. Therefore, I also wanted a build that was graceful through the ED nerfs to come, where my guess is they implement their previously floated idea to level ED trees up with epic levels to neuter early epic power. This is consistent with the U48.4 nerfs to THF where they primarily nerf leveling by 15% since that is where your stat matters, and by 6% at end game where most of your damage is non-stat. This is also consistent with U49 nerfs to bow manyshot/10k flat high bases to a level formula and nerfing base bow speed from 86 shots/min at level 1 with haste pots also to a level formula that caps out at 77 shots/min making bow leveling worse for most levels. Since existing ED implementation allows a well-built character to solo legendary reaper at 20 on any archtype (melee or just see level 20 post below, ranged, or caster), such a nerf has to be in the works. As such, this build is entirely self-contained while leveling, and doesn't need anything out of any ED, and can even be used to level any ED or even without one which I think is coming.

I keep iterating through this and improving it slightly with tweaks, so most of the pictures are all slightly off and don't have the FvS level I just added, but the build itself as written is now in final graceful form.


My friend I'll make it clear, with pictures you can open in a new page to click and zoom into.

Bladeforged or WF

Enhancements, as per pic while leveling, you may need to drop some armor pen (falconry or inquisitor) depending on your AP for Bladeforged Recon SLA until 30 with Scion of Mechanus, drop a bird single target attack once you have enough attacks for toolbars and drop true seeing once you can cast it. Get BF first, then EK, then KoTC, then Inquisitive, then falconry last. If you want a slightly tankier but less armor pen version, you can swap the inquisitor to SaD defensive stance, but you will want Boulder's Might then as a second AoE crit gib since your AoE crit gib eldritch tempest won't break fortification and crit as often. Replace single target bird attack with Boulder's Might on toolbar.


(Open in new window to zoom)

At 26 with helpless dire charge, we redo enhancement for more helpless damage see here.

ED: LD primary (above pic is out of date) for helpless dire charge, gmof for stunning bonuses, and FoTW last for boulder's might.

Skills: Maxing balance and repair, then whatever you want. I commonly do intim, to tank for groups.

Fortification Bypass at level 20:
25% Precision
5% Guild
5% Artifact Part of the Family Set
12% Enhancement Part of the Family Necklace
15% Twists (Grim Precision)
5% Sentience
75% Inq. + Falconry
------------
142% Fortification Bypass at Level 20 (195% at 30) (Enough to level in legendary reaper at 20)

Red named dungeon bosses in reaper mode seem to have around 10+5xdungeon level in fortification (180 in level 34 dungeons), so 142% is good at 20, and 195% is perfect at 30, especially since 15 of that is over time destruction stacks. Reapers have fortification around 90+5xdungeon level, or 90+5x15 = 165% in heroic Gianthold for example, which resists most critical hits at only 72% armor penetration:


See note on fortification here.

These enemy mobs use the same fortification bypass on us as well, which is why we sentience and built the way we did. We want 100% fortification, plus the same amount as our and mobs fortification bypass (180 in level 34 dungeons) = 280% fortification in level 34 dungeons, which if you notice we have above at level 20 for leveling in legendary reaper.

Stats: Dex 13 with tomes +4 by level 9, Charisma 13 with tomes +8 by level 27, Strength 15 with tomes +3 by level 3, Strength 17 with tomes +5 by level 12

I do max + levels Str, Cha/Con 16, Dex 9, leftovers Int with +8 tomes on a BF, sometimes less Con for more Int.

Levels and Feats
1 Paladin Adamantine Body (Delay this for WF some, taking ASF reduction in racial tree)
2 Wizard1 (Wiz Feat: Quicken)
3 Wizard2 THF (Str 15, tomes +3)
4 Wizard3
5 Wizard4
6 Paladin#2 Completionist (if you don't have completionist, take Force of Personality here and Epic DR at 30)
7 Wizard5 (Wiz Feat: Extend) > (Feat swap at 20 to Eschew materials if you are in Fatesinger with maxed out EDs)
8 Wizard6
9 Wizard7 Precision (Dex 13, tomes +4)
10 Wizard8
11 Wizard9
12 Paladin3 THF#2 (BaB 6)
13 Wizard10 Mental Toughness
14 Wizard11
15 Wizard12 Improved Critical: Slashing (BaB 8)
16 Wizard13
17 Wizard14
18 Paladin #4 THF#3 (BaB 11)
19 Favored Soul 1 (FvS here so we can get a cheaper Divine Might at level 26 for only 4 AP to get helpless falconry damage to go with dire charge and no fail will for legendary reaper)
20 Wizard 15 Improved Mental Toughness
21 Construct Exemplar
22 Perfect THF
24 Overwhelming Critical
26 Helpless damage (Helpless Dire Charge LD) (swap to Warpriest Divine Might, saving 4 AP for Falconry No Mercyx3 and Inquisitor Mind Like Iron (no fail will saves), see final AP Split here)
27 Epic Reflexes (to avoid horrid wilting 1 shots from famine reapers)
28 Deific Warding
30 Scion of Arborea (Mechanus for WF or those without racial AP), Epic Fortitude (to avoid disintegrate 1 shots from famine reapers)

For what is a robot, what has he got? If he lacks gear, then he has naught. A lot of people ask for builds for reaper. Builds don't walk into reaper. Geared characters do. The better the gear and character you have, the higher the difficulty you can walk into. The build itself will only take you so far. That being said, this build takes one a lot farther than others. Heh. Example 15 and 20 gear sets are posted below, as are upgrades as you level at 24 and 26 28, 29, and 30. We are going strength based so we don't get 100-0 killed in trip as often.

Death Aura Gear: LGS Dust + Ooze (Swaps in for casting these spells)

Toolbar setup I use is as pictured:

(Open in new window to zoom)

There were times, there were a few, where there were too many buttons, than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and tool barred it out. Toolbars 1-4 are only ones visible for normal play, with 1 primarily used, and toolbar 2 first 3 slots bound to ` and extra mouse buttons. Toolbar 3 and 4 are less used abilities.
5 is hidden and rarely used, as is 6 which holds your charisma and int skills and swaps. Toolbar 7 Holds your always active abilities hidden. Toolbar 8 is hidden and bound to number pad, so as you run around you can run your right hand up the pad and rebuff short term buffs, including LGS Dust + Ooze death auras. Hidden Toolbar 9 you use when you log in, and 10 is rarely used Rock boots for Tempest Spine and Propulsion boots for a few spots, and LHox stuffs. I faced the impossible 10 toolbars of abilities, and did it my way.

Basically, the double recon with some extra spell power from reaper tree/reaper boost combine to sorta compensate for the 60% R1 self healing penalty, so you can self-heal in low-mid reaper. Now high is relative to the character and build in question, but this build doesn't work in high reaper due to the 90%+ self healing penalty and 55% positive energy healing penalty from divines, and the lack of willingness for other arcanes to generally heal or repair anyone or life salve you so you can be healed by divines. But that's ok, we just won't play in high reaper.

Even before dire charge you can Power Word: Stun or Otto's Irresistible Dance reapers or champions, trip multiple targets, occasionally blind stuffs with AoE bird attack, and knock everything down with eldritch tempest. Plus there is always the old standby sleet storm, a personal favorite. A mix of CC for a mix of targets.

ED update: follow Dire Charge around, getting Dire Charge + Rally (LD) (replaces trip on toolbar), stunning (GMoF), and whatever else you can afford.
Also, I wrote this one full year in advance of the ED update, to specifically be adaptable to the ED update due to not needing EDs while you level. Heh.