Death knight?

[Kefrem]

I been tinkering around trying to make a death knight build with pale master. Wanted to use almost either all of some warrior build with the buffs from palemaster but cant seem to puzzle it out. Is there a way to do it?

[unbongwah]

I been tinkering around trying to make a death knight build with pale master. Wanted to use almost either all of some warrior build with the buffs from palemaster but cant seem to puzzle it out. Is there a way to do it?

Do you mean a melee build in undead form; or a caster who maxes out their Skeletal Knight? For the former, see this thread; for the latter, you basically take any pure wizard build and, well, gimp it a bit by taking Augment Summoning and the pet enhancement line in Pale Master.

[Baahb3]

gimp it a bit by taking Augment Summoning and the pet enhancement line in Pale Master.

Sorry if this derails the OPs original questions but...

Has anyone done the full on Skeleton pet? i.e. with 3 Druid lives, Augment/Improved Augment Summoning, the Cry of Battle filigrees, enhancement, EDs APs, the whole nine yards. Well as much as you can without making yourself completely worthless.

I did it with an Artificer pet and while kind of tanky, he had no ability to hold agro and really could not hit anything outside of normal or hard difficulty. In other words, still pretty worthless.

Just wondering if the Skeleton pet is in the same boat.

[droid327]

I been tinkering around trying to make a death knight build with pale master. Wanted to use almost either all of some warrior build with the buffs from palemaster but cant seem to puzzle it out. Is there a way to do it?

/7 Wiz is all you really need for the Undead part of PM (plus the low-hanging fruit from EK), so you can have 13 levels of any other martial class (or 12 and 1, which might offer more a synergistic split). However, the usual issue that comes up is most classes you'd want to pair with it already have decent self-healing, so you're essentially just spending 7 class levels for a sideways move.

EK/PM is already a decent melee build if you want to stay pure Wiz or go 18/2 Rogue...lots of Imbue die, decent Cleaves, and you can go entirely INT based with Harper so you can still do some offensive casting on top of heals and buffs. Plus your Death Aura and Neg Energy Burst will be much stronger than with just a /7 Splash. That will probably end up being stronger overall than a wiz/martial split, which is probably why you see a lot more EK/PMs than those.

If you wanted to splash, it probably makes the most sense to go Rogue, Fighter, or Barb, since those arent inherently self-heal classes. Stick Rogue is OK but has a lower ceiling...Barb is strong but cant use Rages if you're going to be casting...Fighter is OK but its a very passive class, ie more stat boosts and fewer buttons to push.

You'd want to split your AP 7 PM 12 Harper 13 EK, then the rest to your martial trees, pumping INT and CON, taking Insightful Reflex on top of your melee feats, and Extend/Quicken as your free metamagics. Use Spellsword for whichever element you have the easiest time gearing for, though Acid or Electric has fewer issues with immune mobs.

[droid327]

Just wondering if the Skeleton pet is in the same boat.

Not sure specifically, but everyone was just testing out the Wolf pet for DH on Lama, where you could spec full-stupid for pets if you wanted, and the general consensus there was "pets still suck in any meaningful difficulty"

All the bonuses in the world are only going to do so much to offset the poor AI and lack of fluid controls for pets

[Ereshkigal]

I been tinkering around trying to make a death knight build with pale master. Wanted to use almost either all of some warrior build with the buffs from palemaster but cant seem to puzzle it out. Is there a way to do it?

https://forums.ddo.com/forums/showth...r-free-to-play
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz1BK0U76O0

[Eantarus]

Go pure wizard pale EK. Just take a lot of melee feats and you'll do great.

I WILL say, based on my own experiences: going warforged full EK is better than pale EK. But if you want flavor, pick your favorite flesh race and go pale EK.

[captain1z]

Sorry if this derails the OPs original questions but...

Has anyone done the full on Skeleton pet? i.e. with 3 Druid lives, Augment/Improved Augment Summoning, the Cry of Battle filigrees, enhancement, EDs APs, the whole nine yards. Well as much as you can without making yourself completely worthless.

I did it with an Artificer pet and while kind of tanky, he had no ability to hold agro and really could not hit anything outside of normal or hard difficulty. In other words, still pretty worthless.

Just wondering if the Skeleton pet is in the same boat.

Ive done it
Augment summoning
Improved Augment Summoning
Plus the filigree that buffs sommons
All enhancements

Dont do it. Its trash. It wont die immediately but if you're not constantly healing it, you got maybe 30 seconds to a minute at best on elite before it dies and maybe 10 seconds on reaper 1.

Invest elsewhere.

[C-Dog]

Has anyone done the full on Skeleton pet?

Yes.

The Skellie is the best of the pets, but it's still weaksauce compared to even a half-decent player character. It's not going to be the tank you want it to be.

[DaviMOC]

Just a side note. For Anyone planning doing the pet thing dont miss the oportunity of having the lvl 30 fvs hireling. This guy hits 4k health and carries my gimpy alt trough elite legendaries. lol. Still no reaper material but its fun to have him on a pet specialized toon.

Yeah. Wiz 20 pale/ek with martial feats acording to the fighting style you aiming is your best choice. Saw some pretty strong shield users.

[KoobTheProud]

Human Wizard 20

Str - 16, Dex - 8, Con - 16, Int - 18, Wis - 8, Cha - 8

L1 - THF, Maximize Spell, Light Armor
L3 - Medium Armor
L4 - Str + 1
L5 - Quicken Spell
L6 - Spell Focus: Necromancy
L8 - Int + 1
L9 - Spell Penetration
L10 - Heighten Spell
L12 - Int + 1, Improved THF
L15 - Heavy Armor, Extend Spell
L16 - Int + 1
L18 - Improved Critical: Slashing
L20 - Int +1

Eldritch Knight - 41

Eldritch Strike, Improved Mage Armor 3, Arcane Siphon 3, Toughness 1
Spellsword, Improved Shield 3, Mystic Wards 3
Imbue the Blade, Arcane Barrier, Critical Mastery 3, Int
Subtle Force I, Knight's Transformation, Forces Point, Int
Subtle Force II, Improved Knight's Transformation, Knight's Arcanum: Knight's Controller, Force's Edge, Eldritch Tempest 3
Eldritch Blade

Pale Master - 27

Dark Reaping, Negative Energy Conduit 3, Skeletal Knight 3
Pale Shroud: Lich, Corpse Crafter 3, Efficient Maximize 3
Undead Augmentation I: Beacon of Necromancy, Negative Energy Adept 3, Int
Undead Augmentation II: Undead Chill, Unholy Avatar, Int

Harper Agent - 12

Agent of Good, Harper Enchantment, Strategic Combat I
Harper Training I: Int, Know the Angles 3
Strategic Combat II

Quick, easy and few bumps on the road. You probably won't wear heavy armor until 20 when you can slot in a -15 ASF augment. You're mostly going to be whacking with the Greatsword up to that point anyway and your pet will be good for taking the first few hits anyway when you send him flying into the pack ahead of you. Death Aura will keep you up through almost anything.

[SpartanKiller13]

One of my buddies was looking for a antipaladin death knight sorta toon so I threw one up? Maybe it's a bit of what you're after.

Zombie Form is wildly regarded as terrible because -10% AS is bad, however with T5 PM you get +10% flat damage, and total +40 MP which is a sizable chunk. Focusing on big attacks rather than spam works better with +damage thus it's a Fury build. Level split requires 5 Wizard and 14 Paladin (or Cleric, but I think Pally's better). I went Scourge for faster access to cool stuff, 5% Doublestrike, and Silvanus option (if you want to run mauls). LHoW +1 so you can get Pally 15 for Zeal is the best, or just 15/5 as another race is +5% Doublestrike net which nice.

Gear's mostly stolen from another build I was using near then lol. PL's and RXP are nice of course but not required. Take Intimidate, Jump, and UMD as skills. Level-ups into Cha.


Classes: 14 Paladin, 10 Epic, 5 Wizard, 2 Legendary, 1 Ranger
Race: Aasimar Scourge · · ·Alignment: Lawful Good

· · ·Start Tome Final · · ·Incorp:· · ·0% · · ·Displacement:· ·50%
Str:· · 12· · 8 · ·36 · · ·HP:· · · ·3232 · · ·AC:· ·126
Dex:· · ·8· · 8 · ·30 · · ·PRR: · · · 289
Con:· · 16· · 8 · ·72 · · ·MRR: · · · ·91 · · ·+Healing Amp:· ·193
Int:· · 14· · 8 · ·27 · · ·Dodge: · 21/28 · · ·-Healing Amp:· · 51
Wis:· · 10· · 8 · ·23 · · ·Fort:· · ·328% · · ·Repair Amp:· · · 25
Cha:· · 18· · 8 · ·75 · · ·SR:· · · · · 3 · · ·BAB: · · · · · · 22
DR:
Immunities: Natural Disease, Magical Disease, Super-Natural Disease, Fear, Energy Drain, Magic Missiles, Fear, Slippery Surfaces, Falling Damage, Most forms of Knockdown, Magic Missiles, Magic Missiles, Death Effects, Freedom of Movement

Saves:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fortitude:· · · · 114
Will: · · · · · · ·78
Reflex: · · · · · ·83

Class and Feat Selection
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Level Class · · · · · ·Feats
1 · · Ranger(1) · · · ·Standard: Toughness
· · · · · · · · · · · ·Favored Enemy: Favored enemy: Evil Outsider
2 · · Paladin(1)· · · ·Follower of Faith: Favored by Silvanus
3 · · Paladin(2)· · · ·Standard: Two Handed Fighting
6 · · Paladin(5)· · · ·Standard: Power Attack
7 · · Paladin(6)· · · ·Deity: Blessing of Silvanus
9 · · Paladin(8)· · · ·Standard: Improved Critical: Bludgeoning Weapons
11· · Wizard(1) · · · ·Metamagic: Extend Spell
12· · Wizard(2) · · · ·Standard: Improved Two Handed Fighting
15· · Wizard(5) · · · ·Standard: Greater Two Handed Fighting
· · · · · · · · · · · ·Metamagic: Quicken Spell
17· · Paladin(11) · · ·
18· · Paladin(12) · · ·Standard: Toughness
19· · Paladin(13) · · ·
21· · Epic(1) · · · · ·Epic Feat: Overwhelming Critical
22· · Epic(2) · · · · ·Epic Destiny Feat: Perfect Two Handed Fighting
24· · Epic(4) · · · · ·Epic Feat: Epic Toughness
25· · Epic(5) · · · · ·Epic Destiny Feat: Doublestrike
27· · Epic(7) · · · · ·Epic Feat: Epic Damage Reduction
28· · Epic(8) · · · · ·Epic Destiny Feat: Harbinger of Chaos
30· · Epic(10)· · · · ·Epic Feat: Toughness
· · · · · · · · · · · ·Legendary: Scion of Arborea
31· · Legendary(1)· · ·Epic Destiny Feat: Deific Warding

Enhancements: 80 APs, Racial 4, Universal 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aasimar: Scourge of the Undead - Points spent: 7
Core1 Stronger Bonds I
Tier1 Scourge Weapons
Core2 Ability I: +1 Charisma
Tier1 Improved Recovery I
Tier2 Improved Scourge Weapons
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Knight of the Chalice - Points spent: 26
Core1 Slayer of Evil I
Tier1 Holy Combatant I
Tier1 Improved Second Strikes - 3 Ranks
Core2 Courage of Heaven
Tier2 Divine Might - 3 Ranks
Tier2 Critical Mastery - 1 Ranks
Tier3 Exalted Smite: Exalted Smite - 3 Ranks
Core3 Slayer of Evil II
Tier3 Lead the Charge - 1 Ranks
Tier3 Ability I: +1 Charisma
Core4 Improved Courage of Heaven
Tier4 Ability II: +1 Charisma
Tier4 Vigor of Life I
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Feydark Illusionist - Points spent: 9
Core1 Find Familiar: White Cat
Tier1 Familiar's Flourish I
Tier1 Illusory Weaponry
Tier2 Familiar's Flourish II
Tier2 You've Got My Back
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vistani Knife Fighter - Points spent: 11
Core1 Knife Expertise
Tier1 Undead Hunter
Tier1 Acrobatic - 3 Ranks
Tier1 Vistani Knife Training I
Tier2 Haste Boost - 3 Ranks
Core2 Knife Juggler
Core3 Quick Reflexes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pale Master - Points spent: 32
Core1 Dark Reaping
Tier1 Negative Energy Conduit - 3 Ranks
Tier1 Skeletal Knight - 2 Ranks
Tier1 Deathless Vigor - 3 Ranks
Core2 Pale Shroud: Shroud of the Zombie
Tier2 Corpsecrafter - 3 Ranks
Tier2 Efficient Metamagic: Efficient Quicken - 2 Ranks
Tier3 Ability I: +1 Constitution
Tier3 Eternal Furor - 3 Ranks
Tier3 Negative Energy Adept - 3 Ranks
Tier4 Ability II: +1 Constitution
Tier5 Ascendant Shroud
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Epic Destinies: 40 APs + 20 permanent Destiny Points
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fury of the Wild - Points spent: 37
Core1 Die Hard
Tier1 Epic Strike: Adrenaline - 3 Ranks
Tier1 Enduring - 3 Ranks
Core2 Die Harder
Tier2 Primal Scream
Tier2 Speed or Strength: Boulder's Might - 3 Ranks
Core3 Die Hardest
Tier3 Wild Weapons: Doublestrike - 3 Ranks
Tier3 Force of Fury: Furious Force - 3 Ranks
Tier4 The Voice of Fury
Tier4 Wade Through: Wade Through - Doublestrike - 3 Ranks
Tier4 Force Selector: Overwhelming Force - 3 Ranks
Tier4 Unquenchable Rage - 3 Ranks
Core4 Be the Whirlwind
Tier5 Nature's Fury
Tier5 Unbridled Fury
Tier5 Scarred by Chaos
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Legendary Dreadnought - Points spent: 17
Core1 Fearless
Tier1 Push Through The Line - 2 Ranks
Tier1 Shrug Off Punishment - 3 Ranks
Core2 Weaponmaster
Tier2 Life and Death - 3 Ranks
Core3 Thick Skinned
Tier3 Armor of Dusk - 3 Ranks
Tier3 Strike Twice - 3 Ranks
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grandmaster of Flowers - Points spent: 14
Core1 Inner Focus
Tier1 Serenity
Tier1 Disciple's Studies - 2 Ranks
Core2 Disciple of Material: Adamantine
Tier2 A Dance of Flowers
Tier2 Hail of Blows
Core3 Disciple of Morality: Good
Tier3 Serene Mercy - 3 Ranks
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spells· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · School· · · · ·DC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paladin Spells
L2: Angelskin
L2: Righteous Command
L3: Prayer
L4: Holy Sword
(L4: Zeal - if Pally 15)
Wizard Spells
L1: Nightshield
L1: Shield
L2: Lesser Death Aura
L3: Displacement
L3: Rage
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Weapon Damage
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Melee Power:· 324 (343 with Sanctified Fervor)
Doublestrike: 84% (94% with +1 LHoW and Zeal)
Strikethrough: 200%
Mainhand damage ability multiplier: 2
Fortification Bypass: 102%
Helpless Damage bonus: 85%

Main Hand: Tremor, the Breaker of Bones
On Hit· · · · ·6.25[1D10+6]+168 ·+ 6D6 Cold
Critical 16-18 (6.25[1D10+6]+171) * 4 ·+ 6D6 Cold
Critical 19-20 (6.25[1D10+6]+171) * 6 ·+ 6D6 Cold
DR Bypass: Adamantine, Good
You bypass Incorporeality miss chance with this weapon
You bypass Concealment miss chance with this weapon

Equipped Gear Set:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armor · · · · Legendary Enforcer's Coat · Drops in: Quest: Thralls of the Fungus Lord
Belt· · · · · Legendary Bronze Dragonscale Belt · Drops in: Quest: Security Detail
· · · · · · · Blue: +20 Sapphire of Accuracy
Boots · · · · Legendary Deepsnow Boots· ·Drops in: U48 Quest: A Frosty Reception
· · · · · · · Green: +2 Festive Constitution
Bracers · · · Brightlord, the Sigil of the Flame· ·Drops in: U46: Chain: The Lost Gatekeepers
· · · · · · · Green: +2 Festive Charisma
· · · · · · · Yellow: +5 Diamond of Insightful Charisma
· · · · · · · Blue: +12 Sapphire of Dodge
· · · · · · · Filigree 1: Sanctified Fervor/Reverberation: +2 Charisma
· · · · · · · Filigree 2: Dreadbringer: Melee Power(Rare Version)
· · · · · · · Filigree 3: Sucker Punch/One Against Many: +2 Strength(Rare Version)
Cloak · · · · Legendary Cloak of the City's Champion· ·Drops in: Quest: A Sharn Welcome
· · · · · · · Green: +10 Topaz of Melee Power
Gloves· · · · Legendary Hammerfist· ·Drops in: Quest: Blown Deadline
Goggles · · · Legendary Tinkerer's Goggles· ·Drops in: U47 Raid: Legendary Master Artificer
· · · · · · · Yellow: Essence of the Epic Litany of the Dead
Helmet· · · · Legendary Executioner's Helm· ·Drops in: Quest: Secret of the Slavers' Stockade (Epic), End chest
Necklace· · · The Family's Blessing · Drops in: Raid: Project Nemesis
· · · · · · · Yellow: Globe of True Imperial Blood
· · · · · · · Blue: Sapphire of Greater Heroism
Ring1 · · · · Circle of Malevolence · Drops in: Raid: The Mark of Death
Ring2 · · · · Legendary Nocturne Ring · Drops in: U48 Quest: A Frosty Reception
Trinket · · · Legendary Five Rings· ·Drops in: Quest: Against the Slavelords
· · · · · · · Legendary Slavelords Prefix: Sheltering +33
· · · · · · · Legendary Slavelords Suffix: Armor Piercing +20
· · · · · · · Legendary Slavelords Extra: Stunning +15
· · · · · · · Legendary Slavelords Bonus: Quality Charisma +3
Weapon1 · · · Tremor, the Breaker of Bones· ·Drops in: Raid: Old Baba's Hut
· · · · · · · Purple: Empty augment slot
· · · · · · · Red: Deconstructor
· · · · · · · Filigree 1: Dreadbringer: Armor Class(Rare Version)
· · · · · · · Filigree 2: Dreadbringer: Melee Power(Rare Version)
· · · · · · · Filigree 3: Dreadbringer: PRR(Rare Version)
· · · · · · · Filigree 4: Dreadbringer: Tactics DC(Rare Version)
· · · · · · · Filigree 5: Sanctified Fervor/Reverberation: +2 Charisma
· · · · · · · Filigree 6: Sanctified Fervor: Melee Power(Rare Version)
· · · · · · · Filigree 7: Sanctified Fervor: PRR
· · · · · · · Filigree 8: Sanctified Fervor: Healing Amplification
· · · · · · · Filigree 9: Shattered Device: Armor Piercing
· · · · · · · Filigree 10: Sucker Punch/One Against Many: +2 Strength(Rare Version)

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[Scrag]

One of my buddies was looking for a antipaladin death knight sorta toon so I threw one up? Maybe it's a bit of what you're after.

The build looks great, first off!

However, I kind of struggle. In Death Knights of Krynn (for those who played the gold box game), he could delay blast fireball and stuff towards the end, but ultimately he was just a knight of solamina. He really wasn't wizard-y, and he definitely wasn't paladin-y (prior to the events that turned him undead).

I don't see how (within heroics), its possible to get soth-y without going pale master or dark apostate or something, and with either of those, it doesnt really jive with all the rest of him.

I guess the closest I can see is 17 fighter 3 pale master (skellie points + hps)?

[droid327]

I don't see how (within heroics), its possible to get soth-y without going pale master or dark apostate or something, and with either of those, it doesnt really jive with all the rest of him.

Pure 20 fighter, have a friend roll a female elf PM....then die and have her rez you as a zombie?