Swash/Imbue

[noxx007]

I am looking for some build feedback for a swash build I am wanting to run.

I do not care about it being R10 viable. This is something I plan to run solo from 1-30 for TR'ing so it can't come online at lvl 30.

My current thoughts are wanting to run a build focusing on SWf, swash, and imbue dice. Making use of the spellpower scaling on sonic damage from Swashbuckler. Going no offhand nets me +10% doublestrike and +.25 stat multiplier for my main hand but I'm not sure it is worth it considering the lack of imbue dice in Bard.

So I am thinking I need to multiclass to make the most of this. My current front runners would be something like..

X Bard/X Arti to make use of BE imbue dice +dice while wearing runearm from bard and potentially some rune arm damage.

3 Bard/17 Dark Acolyte picking up all the imbue dice from DA and Warpriest but this pigeon holes me into Drow Shortsword (which is fine) or daggers. Both fine, just something I have to keep in mind for favored weapons.

3 fighter/15 bard/2 rogue - this gets me 3 dice from rogue and some shield enhancements from vanguard to assist swash or just defender stance and bonus feats. I think this is the lowest dice as it would only be a total of 4?

Ultimately I want to do a good dps Swash with the ability to clear trash on top of single target. Which means potentially running cleave/GC/WW or some combination. This really hampers me in terms of feats as it would strain me to get them all or most. My focus is on imbue dice b/c it feels like swash would be subpar relying on just flat dps from stat/weap modifiers.

Any input would be welcome. I have ran a bard/barb using handaxes in the past and it felt...okay. Though this has been quite a while back and would definitely have less imbue focus from what I can tell. I've tried some recent builds in heroics focusing on imbue dice and it feels very strong, just having a hard time catalysing it into a good version of swash. Thanks!

[unbongwah]

3 Bard/17 Dark Acolyte picking up all the imbue dice from DA and Warpriest but this pigeon holes me into Drow Shortsword (which is fine) or daggers. Both fine, just something I have to keep in mind for favored weapons.

You forgot Olladra for sickles with Swords to Plowshares. Also Wood elves can get rapiers as Favored weapons from Faith of the Forest (11 APs).

Pure bard caps out at +5 Imbue dice from Warchanter cores (41 APs); drow can add +2 dice from racial tree (16 APs).

Bard 18 / rogue 2 can get +4 Dice from Warchanter (31 APs), +3 Dice from Assassin (8 APs), and +2 dice from drow (16 APs). Or do Shadarkai for the chain attacks rather than the extra Imbue dice; you want better AoE damage on a Swashbuckler, it's hard to find anything stronger than SDK.

Bard 18 / Artificer 2 using dual xbows with Dashing Inquisition can get +7 Dice from Inquisitive tree (41 APs), +1 Dice from Swashbuckler's Music Box (21 APs), and +2 Dice from Warchanter (11 APs); as well as Runearms.

[noxx007]

You forgot Olladra for sickles with Swords to Plowshares. Also Wood elves can get rapiers as Favored weapons from Faith of the Forest (11 APs).

Pure bard caps out at +5 Imbue dice from Warchanter cores (41 APs); drow can add +2 dice from racial tree (16 APs).

Bard 18 / rogue 2 can get +4 Dice from Warchanter (31 APs), +3 Dice from Assassin (8 APs), and +2 dice from drow (16 APs). Or do Shadarkai for the chain attacks rather than the extra Imbue dice; you want better AoE damage on a Swashbuckler, it's hard to find anything stronger than SDK.

Bard 18 / Artificer 2 using dual xbows with Dashing Inquisition can get +7 Dice from Inquisitive tree (41 APs), +1 Dice from Swashbuckler's Music Box (21 APs), and +2 Dice from Warchanter (11 APs); as well as Runearms.

Thanks! I was a bit off on my calculations for dice, thought 9 would be about the limit, but looks like arti would let me get 10. Yes, AoE damage is the part I am currently struggling with. I thought about taking cleaves/WW with SWF to assist with this but the feats just aren't there without taking fighter levels it seems like.
I haven't ran arti in a while but last was painful since I tried relying on rune arms for AoE and they felt really buggy and just randomly missed all the time. Is this still the case?

I'd love to do SDK but I'm currently looking to run 1-30 for epic/heroic PL's. So Iconic is off the table. Any recommendations on squeezing in better AoE to this or are runearms my best option? Or am I asking for too much in one build. lol
15 Barb 3 fight 2 rogue would loss me 1 die but gain 2 feats + stalwart defender.

[cru121]

While this whole favored weapons thing is a nice exercise, it does not really matter if you pick up the actual imbue from elsewhere, such as Swashbuckler.

Or am I wrong?

[Caarb]

15 Alch 3 bard 2 rogue

[Tilomere]

I'd love to do SDK but I'm currently looking to run 1-30 for epic/heroic PL's. So Iconic is off the table. Any recommendations on squeezing in better AoE to this or are runearms my best option?

You need enough extra feats to have full metamagics on ED AOE spell damage at 20, plus want evasion, plus a third class with imbue synergy:

12 Alc > 3 bard > 5 barb

Make sure to have max/emp/quicken

Gear/build based on Beautiful on the inside., but allowing evasion.

Heroic rotation Multivial > melee

Epic rotation AoE ED nukes > melee

[SocratesBastardSon]

While this whole favored weapons thing is a nice exercise, it does not really matter if you pick up the actual imbue from elsewhere, such as Swashbuckler.

Or am I wrong?

No, you're correct. (Or you should be.) There are imbue toggles and the imbue dice pool. Like EK's and AA's elemental toggles, whatever toggles you have gained access to, you can pick and choose the one you want to use, although they are mutually exclusive now (with a couple exceptions from the AA cores).

Here's a little more detail for those not familiar with the broad outlines of the mechanic.

Imbue dice are a neutral, property-less pool that are automatically fed to whichever toggle you currently have active. For imbue dice, there is one exception to their otherwise neutral character: sometimes a specific piece of equipment has to be worn in order to access some of those dice, e.g., a rune arm (BE) or orb (feat).

Imbue toggles have a number of unique properties associated with them that modify their performance.

Restrictions include weapons types (ranged vs. melee, favored weapons, piercing, even specific weapons like bow), forms, mantles and stances.

There are numerous (mostly) beneficial properties that toggles can award. They always provide an additional damage type (elemental, light, physical, bane); that's the base function. Then there are SP- or MP-based multipliers (typically 100%, occasionally 200%), different sized dice (d6 and d8 the most common), and one-offs like ghost touch (DA and EK), additional crit behaviors (Henshin), poison DOT (Ninja), cursing (DA), elemental absorption (Tempest), buffing an SLA (ES), etc.

I said "should be" because there's one thing I need to test but have not yet. Are the unique DA enhancements to the Enhanced Curse line tied entirely to the DA toggle, Apostate's Curse, or do any of them float across the toggle-dice divide and help with other toggles? In other words, does the Implement, Curse spell and Vulnerability enhancements work with other toggles? They should not, because they are attached to Apostate's Curse, not the dice. But given this is DDO, one always has to test, test and test some more.

[noxx007]

While this whole favored weapons thing is a nice exercise, it does not really matter if you pick up the actual imbue from elsewhere, such as Swashbuckler.

Or am I wrong?

That is a fair point I did not even think of that. DA would work and just not use it for the imbue, but the bonus dice. Though a 17/3 DA/Bard probably wouldnt have great defenses.