Human Favored Soul Healer, Tank, DPS, and best friend

[TraitorJ03]

Hey All,

I’m looking to put out some resources for new players. Most of this post will be targeted to F2P Players as it is inclusive to all other account types. My goal is to provide strong build ideas that can be accessed by any player so you can enjoy the great game of DDO. More players means more groups and eventually more paying customers that will keep this game afloat (fingers crossed).

This build is Premium ~6000 DDO Points (I kept the gear set down to just Sharn, Ravenloft, Vale of Twilight, and Dragonblood Prophecy and with just the favor from those packs you can unlock a 32pt build and Favored Soul for free). I'll make a F2P version of this when I have time for it. I created this build when the game went free due to covid and I convinced 4 of my friends to level up characters from 1-30. We leveled up 1-20 on R3 as first life toons with only one of us knowing what they were doing (and even there I can't say that I was the best guide). We now stick at level cap and raid. I main heal or main tank with this build. My DPS is in the middle of the pack. We've been doing LE Hound, LE Tempest, LN Vision of Destruction, LH Baba's Hut, LH Shroud, LN Killing Time, LH Dryad, and LN Project Nemesis. Our guild is new to raiding so I haven't gotten the chance to push the difficulties yet but I'm usually the last to die and I'll update what this toon can handle as we accomplish it.

This and the posts below are currently in edit. If this build interest you please come back here in the following days for the completed version.

Sincerely,
TraitorJoe of Cannith (aka LatestRaise)

[TraitorJ03]

Build 2: 20 Favored Soul Human
<New Image>

Rating: R3 Party Ready
As stated above. I leveled 1-20 on R3 with 4 brand new players. Because of this I don't know how well this character can solo. I would imagine just fine.

Class: Favored Soul
Favored Souls get a lot of things over Clerics without even trying. I'm very partial to Clerics myself as you can fine tune your build significantly with Domains. That being said Favored Souls just get a lot of this stuff for free without having to overthink the build which makes Favored Soul an extremely friendly/survivable first life Healer and DPS. The Angel Of Vengeance tree makes your light spells hit like a truck, the Beacon of Hope tree gives you excellent AOE heals, the feat Grace of Battle or Knowledge of Battle will make you a competent melee, Stout of Heart makes you extremely survivable, and (unfortunately) there just aren't a lot of good divine spells so you major draw back of having limited spells known just doesn't seem to hamper you.

Race: Human
Favored Soul's are feat starved and benefit from an extra feat.

Any Other Race?
Yeah, I think any other race would do just fine with this build. I picked Human because it is F2P and the bonus feat goes a long way.

Stats 28:
Str 10
Dex 9
Con 16
Int 13
Wis 8
Cha 16
Level Up - Con, Con, Con, Con, Con, Con, Con

Stats 32:
Str 9
Dex 8
Con 18
Int 13
Wis 8
Cha 16
Level Up - Con, Con, Con, Con, Con, Con, Con

Tomes: Non needed. All tomes help. If you have at least a +3 Int tome then use this. Goal is to have 12 Int for Skills and 13 Int for Combat Expertise.
Stats 32:
Str 10
Dex 10
Con 18
Int 10
Wis 8
Cha 16
Level Up - Con, Con, Con, Con, Con, Con, Con

Recommended Feats:
1 Maximize, Empower, Follower of Vol
2 Grace of Battle
3 Shield Mastery
5 Energy Absorption Electricity
6 Quicken
7 Stout of Heart
9 Empower Heal
10 Energy Absorption Fire
12 Improved Shield Mastery
15 Combat Expertise (or Force of Personality or Toughness), Energy Absorption Sonic
18 Greater Shield Mastery
21 Toughness
24 Intensify
26 Perfect Shield Mastery
27 Epic Damage Reduction (or Toughness)
28 Elusive Target
29 Shield Warding
30 Scion of Celestia, Epic Toughness

More Tanky:
1 Toughness, Toughness, Follower of Vol (yeah you know where this is going)
2 Grace of Battle
3 Shield Mastery
5 Energy Absorption Electricity
6 Quicken
7 Stout of Heart
9 Empower Heal
10 Energy Absorption Fire
12 Improved Shield Mastery
15 Force of Personality (or Toughness), Energy Absorption Sonic
18 Greater Shield Mastery
21 Epic Toughness
24 Combat Expertise
26 Perfect Shield Mastery
27 Epic Damage Reduction (or Toughness)
28 Elusive Target
29 Shield Warding
30 Scion of Celestia, Toughness

Enhancements:
Caster/Healer/Tank


Healer/Tank/Caster Free


Healer/Tank/Caster Feydark


Enhancement Milestones:
4AP
12AP
26AP
48AP

Buffed Stats at Level 30:




Spells:


Playstyle: Close Range Healer/DPS and Off Tank
Tank - Throw on your tank gear, Epic Defensive Fighting and Combat Expertise, and go to town (I have trained my static group and raid group to come to me for healing/raises). While tanking if you and your group are in the correct position your Beacon abilities will hit everyone keeping you and everyone up for the fight.
Healer - Throw on Combat Expertise (this wont impact your SLA which are 90% of your healing spells), decide if you need Epic Defensive Fighting on, Throw your Wall of Heal and Beacon abilities while standing slightly behind the pack.
DPS - Decide if you need Epic Defensive Fighting on, Turn off Combat Expertise, and Throw your spells like they are going out of style.
Personal - I usually keep Epic Defensive Fighting and Combat Expertise on regardless. I get right in mobs faces and hit them with my spells, jump around, throw heals as I jump between the back and front lines, jumping to the very front of the line and turning around you can usually hit most people with your AOE heals. I find it fun

Shields:
Your MRR and PRR are doubled when using a Heavy shield or Tower shield whenever you roll a reflex save (even if you fail). This makes up 70% of Spike damage aka what usually kills you. This may be controversial but having a Heavy Shield equipped and investing in PRR and MRR will make you more survivable than loosing 2 caster levels to get evasion (IMHO). Heavy shields don’t have a cap on Dex making them more ideal for most characters. Without augments this build has a pretty low Dex so currently I'm using a Tower Shield. Ravenloft has one of the premier Tower Shields and you don't need proficiency to benefit from it.

Low Spell DCs:
Yup, this is not a DC caster build. We focus on Spell Power for Heals (just happens to bump our DPS and Survivability). Constitution first Charisma second is my recommendation as both these are needed for tanking. A soul stone does 0 DPS 0 Healing 0 Agro. I'll experiment with a weapon swap in the future as I think a Nightmother Sceptre will get me 90% there.

[TraitorJ03]

Put Epic Destiny stuff here. You aren't going to be shocked.

[TraitorJ03]

This loot list has been updated since Update 50. The stat squish actually improved this item setup which I'm pretty excited about. This loot is simple, only requires 4 quest packs (albeit two are expansions), covers all the defensive stats, pretty close to maxes out spell power, and has limited swaps.

Recommended Items At Level 30
Weapons 29 Morninglord Sceptre
Shield 29 Legendary Mirrorplate Tower Shield
Belt 29 Legendary Burnscar Sash 28 Legendary Many-Pouched Belt of the Healer 26 Legendary Green Steel Material Opposition Triple Positive "HP, Unconsciousness Range, and Regeneration"
Bracers 29 Legendary Hallowed Castigators
Gloves Gauntlets of Innate Arcanum
Goggles 29 Constitution Legendary Collective Sight
Ring 29 Legendary Deathwarden 29 Legendary_Cursebane_Ring 29 Legendary Ring of Flickering Steel 29 Stolen Signet of ir Wynarn 29 Clouded Dreams
Trinket 28 Legendary Empowered Dragonscale 29 The Heart of Suulomades 29 The Fang of Xyzzy
Cloak 29 Legendary_Hallowed_Trail
Armor 29 Legendary_Blessed_Vestments
Boots 29 Legendary Softsole Slippers
Helmet 29 Legendary Boundless 29 Cannith Crafted Intimidate 26 Legendary Green Steel Ethereal Dominion Triple Positive "Positive Spell Crit Damage" 26 Legendary Green Steel Material Opposition Triple Air "HP and Electric Resistance"
Neck 29 Legendary Reflective Bloodstone
Augments <This is a work in progress. Goal is to fill in missing stats>
Filigrees <This is a work in progress. There is some crazy stuff you can do here>

High Intimidate Tank
Weapon 29 Morninglord Sceptre
Shield 29 Legendary Mirrorplate Tower Shield
Belt 26 Legendary Green Steel Material Opposition Triple Positive "HP, Unconsciousness Range, and Regeneration"
Bracers 29 Legendary Hallowed Castigators
Gloves 29 Gauntlets of Innate Arcanum
Goggles 29 Constitution Legendary Collective Sight
Ring 29 Legendary_Cursebane_Ring 29 Stolen Signet of ir Wynarn
Trinket 28 Legendary Empowered Dragonscale
Cloak 29 Legendary_Hallowed_Trail
Armor 29 Legendary_Blessed_Vestments
Boots 29 Legendary Softsole Slippers
Helmet 30 Cannith Crafted Intimidate (Hot Swap when Intimidating) 26 Legendary Green Steel Material Opposition Triple Air "HP and Electric Resistance"
Neck 29 Legendary Reflective Bloodstone
Augments <This is a work in progress. Goal is to fill in missing stats>
Filigrees <This is a work in progress. There is some crazy stuff you can do here>

Normal Tanking
Weapon 29 Morninglord Sceptre
Shield 29 Legendary Mirrorplate Tower Shield
Belt 26 Legendary Green Steel Material Opposition Triple Positive "HP, Unconsciousness Range, and Regeneration"
Bracers 29 Legendary Hallowed Castigators
Gloves 29 Gauntlets of Innate Arcanum
Goggles 29 Constitution Legendary Collective Sight
Ring Set "High Heal" 29 Legendary_Cursebane_Ring 29 Clouded Dreams
Ring Set "Electrical Absorption" 29 Legendary Deathwarden 29 Legendary Ring of Flickering Steel 29
Trinket 29 The Heart of Suulomades or 29 The Fang of Xyzzy
Cloak 29 Legendary_Hallowed_Trail
Armor 29 Legendary_Blessed_Vestments
Boots 29 Legendary Softsole Slippers
Helmet 30Cannith Crafted Intimidate (Hot Swap when Intimidating), 26 Legendary Green Steel Material Opposition Triple Air "HP and Electric Resistance"
Neck 29 Legendary Reflective Bloodstone
Augments <This is a work in progress. Goal is to fill in missing stats>
Filigrees <This is a work in progress. There is some crazy stuff you can do here>

Heal Bot
Weapon 29 Morninglord Sceptre
Shield 29 Legendary Mirrorplate Tower Shield
Belt 28 Legendary Many-Pouched Belt of the Healer
Bracers 29 Legendary Hallowed Castigators
Gloves Gauntlets of Innate Arcanum
Goggles 29 Constitution Legendary Collective Sight
Ring 29 Legendary Deathwarden 29 Clouded Dreams
Trinket 29 The Heart of Suulomades 29 or The Fang of Xyzzy
Cloak 29 Legendary_Hallowed_Trail
Armor 29 Legendary_Blessed_Vestments
Boots 29 Legendary Softsole Slippers
Helmet 26 Legendary Green Steel Ethereal Dominion Triple Positive "Positive Spell Crit Damage"
Neck 29 Legendary Reflective Bloodstone
Augments <This is a work in progress. Goal is to fill in missing stats>
Filigrees <This is a work in progress. There is some crazy stuff you can do here>

DPS!
Weapons 29 Morninglord Sceptre
Shield 29 Legendary Mirrorplate Tower Shield
Belt 29 Legendary Burnscar Sash
Bracers 29 Legendary Hallowed Castigators
Gloves Gauntlets of Innate Arcanum
Goggles 29 Constitution Legendary Collective Sight
Ring 29 Legendary_Cursebane_Ring 29 Clouded Dreams
Trinket 29 The Heart of Suulomades or 29 The Fang of Xyzzy
Cloak 29 Legendary_Hallowed_Trail
Armor 29 Legendary_Blessed_Vestments
Boots 29 Legendary Softsole Slippers
Helmet 29 Legendary Boundless
Neck 29 Legendary Reflective Bloodstone
Augments <This is a work in progress. Goal is to fill in missing stats>
Filigrees <This is a work in progress. There is some crazy stuff you can do here

No Raid Gear Item Set
Weapon 29 Morninglord Sceptre
Shield 29 Legendary Mirrorplate Tower Shield
Belt 29 Legendary Burnscar Sash 28 Legendary Many-Pouched Belt of the Healer
Bracers 29 Legendary Hallowed Castigators
Gloves Gauntlets of Innate Arcanum
Goggles 29 Constitution Legendary Collective Sight
Ring 29 Legendary Deathwarden 29 Legendary_Cursebane_Ring 29 Legendary Ring of Flickering Steel 29 Stolen Signet of ir Wynarn
Trinket 28 Legendary Empowered Dragonscale
Cloak 29 Legendary_Hallowed_Trail
Armor 29 Legendary_Blessed_Vestments
Boots 29 Legendary Softsole Slippers
Helmet 29 Legendary Boundless 30 Cannith Crafted Intimidate
Neck 29 Legendary Reflective Bloodstone
Augments <This is a work in progress. Goal is to fill in missing stats>
Filigrees <This is a work in progress. There is some crazy stuff you can do here>

Future Work:
Weapon 29 Morninglord Sceptre I want to get multiple of these to swap Filigree sets. Additionally I'm pretty confident I can place a Set Augment in here. If anyone knows that this works and doesn't override the Filligree set please let me know. If this does work I want to place a <Set Augment for +30 Artifact Universal Spell Power> Augment here. I also want to get a set of Heroic Green Steel elemental absorption weapons as I understand they stack and would be a good ocastional swap.
Belt 29 Legendary Burnscar Sash 28 Legendary Many-Pouched Belt of the Healer I want to place a <Set Augment for +30 Artifact Universal Spell Power> Augment here
Goggles 29 Constitution Legendary Collective Sight I want to place a <Set Augment for +4 Artifact Constitution> augment here
Rings 29 Legendary Ring of Flickering Steel 29 Stolen Signet of ir Wynarn 29 Clouded DreamsI want to place a <set Augment for +4 Artifact Constitution> augment in all of these (If the weapon doesn't count for a slot I'll place a <Ste Augment +4 Artifact Con> Augment in Stolen Signet of ir Wynarn and Legendary Ring of Flickering Steel and a <Set Augment for +30 Artifact Universal Spell Power> in the Clouded Dreams and call it good enough)
Trinket 28 Legendary Empowered Dragonscale 29 The Heart of Suulomades 29 The Fang of Xyzzy I want to place a <Set Augment for +4 Artifact Constitution> Augment in all these
Helmet 29 Legendary Boundless I want to place a <Set Augment for +30 Artifact Universal Spell Power> Augment in this. I'd also like to craft a helmet for each of the elements 26 Legendary Green Steel Material Opposition Triple Earth,Fire,Water,Negative "HP and Resistances"
I am working on a 2 piece LGS set as well as getting the third slot for my swaps.
Augments <This is a work in progress. Goal is to fill in missing stats>
Filigrees <This is a work in progress. There is some crazy stuff you can do here>

[TraitorJ03]

Q&A based on feedback

[Riffolk]

Hey Joe!

Always good to see your builds on the forums
I think they bring plenty of solid ideas and you add so many details to make them accessible to players figuring out gearing/build options.

A few questions:

Not sure where I read Elusive Target is broken and only provides the dodge once and then never again.
Can you confirm this feat is WAI?

For your DPS mode gearset, would you be willing to swap out a shield offhand to use https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Legend...splendant_Fury
for the insightful radiance spell power + lore. I think it would certainly be a DPS boost at the cost of survivability.

Tips:
Not sure if you have a pair of https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Rose_Colored_Goggles but I'd hazard a guess they can proc the AoV Core 5 Vengeful Magic for when you want to turn your spellcasting up to 11.
I was using them on my PDK bard to proc 'For Cormyr' and it worked like a charm. (Credit to IlmerSilverhalt/Mesmerita)

I can confirm for you that placing a set augment in your sentient weapon does not override the filigrees. You'd get the benefit from both.
In Gilga's build here you can see he has the Wild Fortitude augment in his sentient weapon.
https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...-Dwarf-Ravager

[TraitorJ03]

Thanks Riff!

Not sure where I read Elusive Target is broken and only provides the dodge once and then never again.
Can you confirm this feat is WAI?[/url]

This is the first I've heard of this. I'll go test it out and report back. As you can tell from the two week response time I haven't had too much free time but that comes and goes in waves

For your DPS mode gearset, would you be willing to swap out a shield offhand to use https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Legend...splendant_Fury
for the insightful radiance spell power + lore. I think it would certainly be a DPS boost at the cost of survivability.

Yes, This makes sense as a hot swap along with https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Legend...re_of_Radiance. I love my shields, and as Voodu says your dps is 0 when you are dead, but when in content such as Epic Normal where speed matters and death is not an issue this makes sense and I should got get one before doing any additional Epic Past lives.

Tips:
Not sure if you have a pair of https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Rose_Colored_Goggles but I'd hazard a guess they can proc the AoV Core 5 Vengeful Magic for when you want to turn your spellcasting up to 11.
I was using them on my PDK bard to proc 'For Cormyr' and it worked like a charm. (Credit to IlmerSilverhalt/Mesmerita)

Yes, Strimtom showed that off on one of his build reviews. I even farmed one out and then completely forgot to utilize it. I'll swap that over to LatestRaise and start using it. Thanks for the reminder.

I can confirm for you that placing a set augment in your sentient weapon does not override the filigrees. You'd get the benefit from both.
In Gilga's build here you can see he has the Wild Fortitude augment in his sentient weapon.
https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...-Dwarf-Ravager

That's a game changer! Thanks for this tip. I hopped it worked. Now I just need 10 more heart of suulomades

[bookmarked]

Thanks for posting this build. It's the only recent FvS build I can find that works for mostly free-to-play. Everything else assumes you have premium races, enhancement trees or 36 point builds.

I bought the $10 Starter Bundle, so I got FvS & Dragonborn but I have little else when it comes to premium content.

Two questions:

1) Why the choice of Blood of Vol for deity? I was thinking that Sovereign Host or Olladra might be better choices.
2) Can you help a newbie out with the skills selections?

I'm leaning toward the Caster/Healer/Tank variant but might try the Healer/Tank/Caster Free later. I should probably mention that I'll probably playing solo most of the time, but would like to group when the opportunity arises.

Thanks!

[Matuse]

I bought the $10 Starter Bundle, so I got FvS & Dragonborn but I have little else when it comes to premium content.

The starter bundle is a great deal - Elieri by herself is worth the $10. Until Frogo she was easily the best hireling in the game.

1) Why the choice of Blood of Vol for deity? I was thinking that Sovereign Host or Olladra might be better choices.

The level 6 deity ability "The Blood Is the Life" provides a massive increase in survivability. Weapon choice is largely irrelevant for a caster build except at very low levels before your spell selection and SLAs can really take over. The other deity abilities are mostly heals, and you're not suffering for lack of heals. Unyielding Sovereignty is nice for the ability to remove death sickness, but that's about it. Better to not die in the first place and Vol helps with that a lot.

2) Can you help a newbie out with the skills selections?

I always put 1 point into Tumble. Helps a surprising amount.

Spellcraft and Heal should be maxed.

I usually get Jump up to 10. That's enough to make a difference and alongside your Strength, any +Jump tomes you might end up with, and jump potions (if need be) you should be able to hit the hard cap for jump with little effort.

After that it's your call. Look to do either Bluff or Diplomacy (probably Diplo since it's a class skill and bluff isn't, but bluff is generally more useful). Concentration has some quest uses for things like disarming slave collars in Eveningstar or talking to the giants in the Madness chain - you will be using Quicken all the time, so Concentration is irrelevant for spellcasting.

Any other skills above those are just padding and you probably shouldn't be investing that much int anyway.

Also, for the original post, for level 9 spell selections, definitely drop Implosion. Without really good caster attributes it is rarely going to land on anything. When he wrote this post, the spell Divine Wrath didn't exist. Well, now it does. And it's amazing. Does good damage, and it's a will save instead of Fort or Reflex so it will land on most things (and never miss due to evasion or deathblock), and it also is a huge AOE heal. Much better choice.

[TraitorJ03]

Hey, Bookmarked

I'm really glad you found my post helpful.

1) Why the choice of Blood of Vol for deity? I was thinking that Sovereign Host or Olladra might be better choices.

Yeah, for a favored weapon you are either going for flavor, a good level 6 ability, or a good weapon type.
I went with Blood of Vol for a good level 6 ability.
The Blood is The Life
Cooldown: 10 minutes
Activate this ability to draw upon the power within your own blood for 24 seconds plus 6 seconds per Religious Lore feat you have (So 144 seconds at level 20). In this state, you gain +4 Constitution, 100% Fortification, +10 to Fortitude Saves, and PRR and MRR equal to the number of Religious Lore feats you have (so 20 PRR and MRR at level 20).

I personally am bad at remembering to use the heal you get as a Sovereign Host at level 6 and you already get amazing healing abilities through your beacon of hope and grace and whatever spells you decide to add to that. Going melee with a longsword may be tempting but trust me, once you get Sun Bolt from the Angel of Vengeance tree you'll look at whatever weapon is in your hand and laugh at it's inferiority.

Luck of Olladra is in the same boat as the Sovereign Host but with a worse melee weapon.

But yeah, if you wanted to be an acceptable melee and really wanted that instant heal go Sovereign Host. But for my money I like the buff that makes me not die without requiring me to react quickly. Oh also, there is a raid item you can only upgrade if you are a follower of Vol. You don't need this item but I thought I'd just mention it.

2) Can you help a newbie out with the skills selections?

Yes, the following skills are important and you may need to sacrifice one or two as a new player.
Heal - Increases your healing spell power.
Spellcraft - Increase pretty much all your other spell powers
Intimidate - One of the few ways to taunt in DDO
Jump - Yeah, DDO likes to make you jump.
UMD - Allows you to use Arcane scrolls like Teleport and Fire Shield
1 Point into Tumble - So you can Shift+Move not much point putting more than 1 point here though.

As a 13 int Human you only get 4 skills per level. I think with the new epic destinies you can drop intimidate. It takes a lot of work to get the Intimidate to the correct level and there is now a ranged taunt that works better if all you need is occasional use.
By level 20
23 Heal
23 Spellcraft
22 Jump
11 UMD
1 Tumble

I should probably mention that I'll probably playing solo most of the time, but would like to group when the opportunity arises.
Thanks!

The DDO community is really great so don't be afraid to join an LFM! So don't forget to hit 'O' before starting an adventure.

[TraitorJ03]

Also, for the original post, for level 9 spell selections, definitely drop Implosion. Without really good caster attributes it is rarely going to land on anything. When he wrote this post, the spell Divine Wrath didn't exist. Well, now it does. And it's amazing. Does good damage, and it's a will save instead of Fort or Reflex so it will land on most things (and never miss due to evasion or deathblock), and it also is a huge AOE heal. Much better choice.

Yeah, Both Divine Wrath and Celestial Bombardment are clutch. I'll get this updated, I still need to add epic destinies too. I personally dropped Mass Heal and True Resurrection for them as Implosion offers something tactically that I don't have much of elsewise. Mass Heal is slow and I have plenty of other heals. True Resurrection is great but scrolls of Resurrection seem to suffice for the content I run. I wouldn't argue about dropping Implosion though if you find it not landing frequently enough and hot swapping to a piece of DC gear doesn't get the job done.

[bookmarked]

Thanks both @Matuse & @TraitorJ03 for the replies and for explaining about The Blood Is the Life - that makes a lot of sense.

I'm glad I asked about the skills. I had Heal & Spellcraft maxed, but I was planning on maxing Concentration, not thinking about using Quicken all of the time. And always 1 point into Tumble.

If you're updating the build, I noticed as I was plugging data into the build planner that at L29 Shield Warding doesn't seem to exist anymore.

Thanks!

[stargate_god]

Q&A based on feedback

Would like to say the build and explanation looks great.

My question would be what would a 5th life fvs look like with 1 cleric 2 fvs 1 wizzy past life.

I'm just coming back to the game after being away for almost 4 yrs.

Wanting to be able to kill everything out right comet fall implosion blade barrier. All the fun stuff.