At what point should I expect my character to become useful?

[Krasuss]

Running some epics the other day and I found that I was completely useless to the team (by comparison).
I couldnt keep up with their movement, and whilst they would kill mobs in one or two hits, its could take me one or two minutes.

Level wise they didnt appear to be any different to me. I dont know how to tell if they are on other lives or not.

Im running a lvl 21 Paladin with:
STR 35: Dex 12: Con 28: Int 16: Wisdom 26: Cha 37.
HP 1098, AC 177, 65%/50% resistances
Weapon 2.25(1d8) with 6 Bludgeon, 4d6 Impact, 6d6 Acid, 4d10 Ghostbane, BAB 21.

[archest]

Running some epics the other day and I found that I was completely useless to the team (by comparison).
I couldnt keep up with their movement, and whilst they would kill mobs in one or two hits, its could take me one or two minutes.

Level wise they didnt appear to be any different to me. I dont know how to tell if they are on other lives or not.

Im running a lvl 21 Paladin with:
STR 35: Dex 12: Con 28: Int 16: Wisdom 26: Cha 37.
HP 1098, AC 177, 65%/50% resistances
Weapon 2.25(1d8) with 6 Bludgeon, 4d6 Impact, 6d6 Acid, 4d10 Ghostbane, BAB 21.

melee power
critical hit chance
critical hit multiplier

roll to hit success!
roll to critical hit 19-20 < can be lowered to 16-20 success! (Power critical feat)
Critical hit multiplier ads damage to a critical hit
Melee power adds damage to all hits



I play more castor at the moment and use alot of spell power and spell critical hit (lore)
to increase my damage.

So... if you select any character running around the world, and "Examine" them, you will see that they are listed as having 1 of the 4 possible statuses -

"Adventurer" status (1st life, 28 pt)
"Champion" status (1st life, 32 pt)
"Hero" status (2nd life, 34 pt)
"Legendary" status (3rd or later life, 36 pts)

[Tyrande]

Running some epics the other day and I found that I was completely useless [...]
Im running a lvl 21 Paladin with:
STR 35: Dex 12: Con 28: Int 16: Wisdom 26: Cha 37.
HP 1098, AC 177, 65%/50% resistances
Weapon 2.25(1d8) with 6 Bludgeon, 4d6 Impact, 6d6 Acid, 4d10 Ghostbane, BAB 21.

Your Strength is too low. Is your weapon Charisma to hit and damage or are you running a PDK iconic?

Are you running against undead content? Epic Ethereal morningstar?

Did you buff your weapon with Holy Sword?

Are you cleaving KoTC T5: Holy Retribution? (against evil content, most of DDO)

If you're running along with fire sorcerers or alchemists, don't expect to kill anything...

I run a ranged paladin with a crossbow in inquisitive stance.

Missiles get to the monster before the casters in the party gets to them.

[KoobTheProud]

This is also a target availability issue. In mixed groups of casters and melee you frequently will be low on the kill count as a melee because casters have range that is killing most of the stuff in front of you before you get there.

There's no fix for that problem as far as I am aware. High magic environments always make swinging a sword option two.

[jskinner937]

melee power
critical hit chance
critical hit multiplier

roll to hit success!
roll to critical hit 19-20 < can be lowered to 16-20 success! (Power critical feat)
Critical hit multiplier ads damage to a critical hit
Melee power adds damage to all hits



I play more castor at the moment and use alot of spell power and spell critical hit (lore)
to increase my damage.

So... if you select any character running around the world, and "Examine" them, you will see that they are listed as having 1 of the 4 possible statuses -

"Adventurer" status (1st life, 28 pt)
"Champion" status (1st life, 32 pt)
"Hero" status (2nd life, 34 pt)
"Legendary" status (3rd or later life, 36 pts)

Power Critical is not the proper feat to improve critical threat range. I think you mean improved critical xxx. And also there are certain weapon types that can be further improved through special feats like swords for plowshares or knight training. Not sure the specific weapon you are using. Also max your fighting style (SWF and THF are pretty strong and should be taken to the greater version).

[Enoach]

Paladin is tough on first life characters since it has so many attributes

Currently in game you will see 28 or 32 pt builds (1st life), 34 pt builds (2nd Life) and 36 pt builds (3rd+ lives)

When using examine you will see the following
Adventurer - 28 pt
Champion - 32 pt
Hero - 34 pt
Legend - 36 pt

What you won't be able to see is how many past lives (heroic, epic, iconic, racial) they have - this will give boosts and allow them build options that may not be available to you at the moment.
Or this could be a result of Reaper Points that are buffing them.
---------
As far as feeling useful - that is going to be subjective. Even weak characters can be useful to a team if they pick something they do and concentrate on doing it well

But things to consider
1. Is your gear Level Appropriate - Players with multiple TRs generally have level appropriate gear. If you don't at the moment then one answer to your question is "When you have level appropriate gear"
2. Are you using all of your skills - IE playing a Paladin like a Fighter and ignoring abilities a Paladin has?

places I would start.
1. Get a few lives in, both epic and heroic
2. Use the DDO wiki and planners and figure out where you can farm for better gear, start with easier to get and work your way to something better
3. Consider the Crafting option as a temporary way to fill in the holes until you have something better.

[LavidDynch]

Re-roll a caster or ranged (but even ranged needs a few pl´s to really get up to speed, but not as many as melee´s.) Your current status is sadly: useless. But the good thing is, your asking yourself questions on why that might be. One of the first step in any game to improve.

Are you cleaving KoTC T5: Holy Retribution? (against evil content, most of DDO)

With his stats its better to just right-click, due to animation and he won´t Holy Retribute anything since they nerfed it to the current super boring version, standard melee practices by SSG I guess...

[teejax]

Unless you're playing as an out and out tank (and thus will never really do any damage) it looks like you may have taken too many defensive options and thus sacrificed DPS/damage.

Are the hitpoints with epic defensive fighting on?

Try posting the following screenshots
(apply any buffs you would typically be running _full time_ 1st, say Holy Sword)
Enhancements View
Epic destiny view
Character sheet
Hover-over of your main weapon

So will look like this (this is an old HC char who is mostly naked, but happens to be a lvl 21 paladin)



Also, other than left click what attacks are you using _regularly_? (ie Exhalted Smite / Avenging Cleave / Holy Retribution etc)
And what other temp DPS buffs are you running regularly (Divine Might say)

[C-Dog]

Im running a lvl 21 Paladin with:

Weapon 2.25(1d8) with 6 Bludgeon, 4d6 Impact, 6d6 Acid, 4d10 Ghostbane, BAB 21.

Iirc, this is a sword-and-board build, right? (well, morning star and board). Those are not designed for big damage, but for more defense.

STR 35: Dex 12: Con 28: Int 16: Wisdom 26: Cha 37.

Why is your Str (approx) the same as your Charisma? You should have focused on one or the other as your primary, combat stat. Which is your combat stat?

Meanwhile, at 21, some of your elite "peers" are going to have stats in the mid double-digits or higher. A weapon-and-shield build is just not going to compete against 50-75 Strength (or more?) with a 2-handed weapon (that doubles that damage bonus).

[Krasuss]

I cant seem to post images. Upload from computer doesnt work and link returns as invalid.

[Bunker]

I cant seem to post images. Upload from computer doesnt work and link returns as invalid.

If I'm reading this correctly, it looks like a case of a level 21 S/B Pally that is having trouble keeping up? Paladin are slower in movement to other classes, and if you are S/B other classes will out dps you. If you are unfamiliar with quests, compared to your group, the quest knowledge alone might make you also feel slower.

Depending on the group, you may not feel very useful. There is usefulness to S/B Paladins, but if you are in a more zerg friendly speed leveling group in early Epics, sit back and continue soaking up some of the shared xp and loot. If the group has hood ppl in it, they will understand.

Don't take this the wrong way. Sometimes if I'm under performing in a quest, for various reasons, I break boxes. Or if my class permits, I will disable traps. Extra xp bonuses in any form are welcome in most groups.

As far as build, a few feat changes, maybe a better weapon, and I slight disregard for defense, you will start having better offensive performance.

[Krasuss]

Someone mentioned my strength is too low.

Im not spending money on tombs so I dont see how I can get it higher without the luck of loot roles.

[Hafeal]

Someone mentioned my strength is too low.

Im not spending money on tombs so I dont see how I can get it higher without the luck of loot roles.

You do get a


1) +2 Tome (the ability of your choice) with 1750 favor and


2) a +5 Tome (the ability of your choice) with 5000 favor


Based on being level 21, you might possibly be close to 5000. I would use the +5 on your damage ability score (STR or CHA) and the +2 on the other.

[Artos_Fabril]

Running some epics the other day and I found that I was completely useless to the team (by comparison).

Long story short, unless you run with a group of people who started about when you did and have similar playstyle/habits, you can expect to feel useful around 1000-1500 hours played.

[C-Dog]

Someone mentioned my strength is too low.

Im not spending money on tombs so I dont see how I can get it higher without the luck of loot roles.

That's a perfectly valid approach to the game (it's how I still play), but you have to accept that others do have them. But you don't have to wait for "loot rolls".

Everyone earns DDO Points as they earn Favor, and you can buy stuff with that. It's (much!) slower than simply spending cash on DP's, and I'm always behind those who invest real money in their characters, but I'm happy with it.

o https://ddowiki.com/page/DDO_Store

Once you've TR'd a couple/few times, you'll find that running quests, as a group leader or solo, is far easier and faster, and earning DDO Points is also faster, and things like Tomes and new Races/Classes/Expansions are not hard to earn at all (esp if you wait for Sales!).

GL!

I cant seem to post images. Upload from computer doesnt work and link returns as invalid.

The forum doesn't host images, you have to find your own host then link from there.

o https://ddowiki.com/page/Screenshot

[Krasuss]

You do get a


1) +2 Tome (the ability of your choice) with 1750 favor and


2) a +5 Tome (the ability of your choice) with 5000 favor


Based on being level 21, you might possibly be close to 5000. I would use the +5 on your damage ability score (STR or CHA) and the +2 on the other.

I hit level 21 at 1800 favour. +2 tome went on charisma.

[Krasuss]

The forum doesn't host images, you have to find your own host then link from there.

o https://ddowiki.com/page/Screenshot[/QUOTE]

Im hosting them on dropbox - trying to link them just returned as invalid.

[C-Dog]

Based on being level 21, you might possibly be close to 5000. I would use the +5 on your damage ability score (STR or CHA) and the +2 on the other.

It's not hard to hit 1,750 well before level 15 (technically it can be done at 6!), but 5,000 for a new-ish player, mid-upper Epics (i.e. 25++) is more realistic.

[Krasuss]

I dont see how it can be possible to do it by level six. At a average of 12 favour per quest, thats 145 quests by level 6.
1750 by level 15 I can see as possible, if you only do quests and do no other content.

There is no way I could have got to 1750 at a lower level than I did without refusing to do other content. 95% of the quests ive done have been on elite. The only ones that have no have been solo quests and protection quests.

[Krasuss]