"Strimtom's Acid Arrow", Maximum Bow DPS, F2P/new player Friendly

[donblas]

Also, when people say this built stacks with spellpower do they mean, spellpower in general, acid spell power, universal spell power? I think I read in the comments that acid lore does nothing for this build?

Thank you!

I'll just answer these bits as I'm not qualified for anything else

Acid spellpower and/or universal spellpower. They don't stack. Universal spellpower helps any type of spell/elemental arrow. Acid spellpower helps acid arrows and spells. You might want force spellpower too as you can switch to force arrows if the target isn't vulnerable to acid.

Yes, lore is irrelevant for boosting the arrows.

[Insanebarb]

I'll just answer these bits as I'm not qualified for anything else

Acid spellpower and/or universal spellpower. They don't stack. Universal spellpower helps any type of spell/elemental arrow. Acid spellpower helps acid arrows and spells. You might want force spellpower too as you can switch to force arrows if the target isn't vulnerable to acid.

Yes, lore is irrelevant for boosting the arrows.

So universal spellpower on my gear will help the other imbues if and when switched to but acid SP will obviously help this build, is how I take it?

[C-Dog]

So universal spellpower on my gear will help the other imbues if and when switched to but acid SP will obviously help this build, is how I take it?

Universal Spellpower is (say it with me!)... "universal", so it will help any and all spellcasting - acid, force, fire, healing (which is something else a Ranger can do) - everything and anything that scales off spellpower.

A specific spellpower, such as Acid, will be higher than universal for the same Minimum Level, but only helps that specific "school".

[Insanebarb]

Universal Spellpower is (say it with me!)... "universal", so it will help any and all spellcasting - acid, force, fire, healing (which is something else a Ranger can do) - everything and anything that scales off spellpower.

A specific spellpower, such as Acid, will be higher than universal for the same Minimum Level, but only helps that specific "school".

Haha, thanks C-Dog. appreciate it. Can't wait to dive into this build and level it now.

[Arctigis]

Haha, thanks C-Dog. appreciate it. Can't wait to dive into this build and level it now.

This is a bad build IMO. You'd be better off mixing DWS and Vistani. I think Carpone has a thread on
this type of build somewhere...

[C-Dog]

This is a bad build IMO. You'd be better off mixing DWS and Vistani.

First, there is nothing wrong with this build except that it is not "the uber". It's strong, the DPS is solid, it has some CC, it's fun - it does just fine.

But if looking for something stronger, you'd be far "better off" with Inquisitive rather than Vistani, esp since Melee is less forgiving than Ranged (esp for many new(er) players).

But this thread is clearly labeled "F2P/new player Friendly", and you're not going to be top-notch with most "F2P/new player friendly" builds, then, are you? So since neither Vistani nor Inquis are F2P... let's stay On Topic.

[Arctigis]

First, there is nothing wrong with this build except that it is not "the uber". It's strong, the DPS is solid, it has some CC, it's fun - it does just fine.

Well, fun is subjective. To me, when Strimtom played this on HC it seemed to really struggle.

But if looking for something stronger, you'd be far "better off" with Inquisitive rather than Vistani, esp since Melee is less forgiving than Ranged (esp for many new(er) players).

I don't know.

For Dex Ranger, AA is generally lower ranged DPS than Vistani+KTA. Acid imbue has diminishing returns compared to doubleshot and hasteboost.
As you say though, it's not exactly F2P/New player friendly.

But this thread is clearly labeled "F2P/new player Friendly", and you're not going to be top-notch with most "F2P/new player friendly" builds, then, are you? So since neither Vistani nor Inquis are F2P... let's stay On Topic.

Fair enough.

[Strimtom]

This is a bad build IMO. You'd be better off mixing DWS and Vistani. I think Carpone has a thread on
this type of build somewhere...

This build is designed for F2P, so while I agree that vistani is fantastic for using fan of knives as well as getting haste boost, I wanted to make sure this stayed F2P. That's why when Horizon walker is released I won't be making any adjustments to this build. It's designed for beginners, as an introductory way to get into dungeons and dragons online and allow people to get familiar with the game before they get too deep into the mechanics. If you have any other recommended builds for people that are beyond the beginner stage, please leave links so it's easy for others to find them

[unbongwah]

This is a bad build IMO. You'd be better off mixing DWS and Vistani. I think Carpone has a thread on
this type of build somewhere...

This is an 80-AP first-life F2P build with zero P2W features and no special gear. Carpone's thread is a 96-AP endgame-focused build with best-in-slot raid gear and two P2P Enhancement trees.

Yes, if you put a $25,000 Subaru next to a $500,000 Lamborghini, the Subaru isn't that impressive, but I don't think you can call it a fair comparison just because they both have four wheels and are technically "cars."

[Arctigis]

This is an 80-AP first-life F2P build with zero P2W features and no special gear. Carpone's thread is a 96-AP endgame-focused build with best-in-slot raid gear and two P2P Enhancement trees.

Yes, if you put a $25,000 Subaru next to a $500,000 Lamborghini, the Subaru isn't that impressive, but I don't think you can call it a fair comparison just because they both have four wheels and are technically "cars."

Sure, I already acknowledged that yesterday but pile on if you like. Whatever.

[dogsoldier]

Says updated for U49, but Blinding Speed is included, which was recently nerfed, it is no longer any good other than to free up gear choices I suppose.

You have:
Level 18 - Weapon focus: Ranged
Level 26 - Holy Strike
Level 27 - Blinding Speed
Level 30 - Scion of the plane of Earth, Epic Reflexes

These would be better in my opinion:
Level 18 - Empower Healing - Great for Cacoon, or other cure spells, nice to have before epics
Level 26 - Guardian Angel - For ranged, the choices are not great at 26, but this is probably better than Holy Strike
Level 27 - Blinding Speed was recently changed to only give 15% attack speed boost, same as blackfeather boots, anything else would be better here, last chance for another heroic feat. Weapon focus is a bad feat, but not many other feats to choose from, unless you have completionist. Even other weak feats like toughness would be better than blinding speed.
Level 30 - Scion of the Ethereal (if investing in sneak attacks) or Arboreal (for the ranged power) Plane, Epic Reflexes
You will do way more dmg from the sneak attacks or added ranged power than you would with the Acid power from Earth.

[Green_Draconis]

After Rapid Shot at level 2... "Now that you have rapid shot and soon to have improved weapon finesse,"

This looks like a Dex build to do damage from that. How/when do you get IWF?

[Enderoc]

It's throw your favorite barb hireling to the wolves day everyday in Strimtomtown
"No barb. I will not "Hjeal you"....there are still boxes I need to fire my acid powered metallic holy arrows at ,drink a potion or something
You are ruining the vibe of my pike"

[SouCarioca]

It's throw your favorite barb hireling to the wolves day everyday in Strimtomtown
"No barb. I will not "Hjeal you"....there are still boxes I need to fire my acid powered metallic holy arrows at ,drink a potion or something
You are ruining the vibe of my pike"

You base this comment on...?

[unbongwah]

After Rapid Shot at level 2... "Now that you have rapid shot and soon to have improved weapon finesse,"

This looks like a Dex build to do damage from that. How/when do you get IWF?

At the time it was posted, this build took Improved Weapon Finesse at level 2 to get DEX to damage with bows. However since then, DEX to damage became an inherent feature of short- and longbows in Update 49 so IWF is no longer a requirement.

[emtcho]

I tried this build, it's fun. But I got stuck at level 20 when allocating points to epic destiny trees. Can anyone advise me on how to divide the points in ep.de. trees? thanks

[unbongwah]

I tried this build, it's fun. But I got stuck at level 20 when allocating points to epic destiny trees. Can anyone advise me on how to divide the points in ep.de. trees? thanks

This build predates the U51 Epic Destiny revamp and it doesn't look like the OP has been updated for the new system. Have a look at Carpone's Horizon Walker thread for ED suggestions.

[emtcho]

This build predates the U51 Epic Destiny revamp and it doesn't look like the OP has been updated for the new system. Have a look at Carpone's Horizon Walker thread for ED suggestions.

Thank you for your response. I'll probably use Racial Reincarnation on my character or create new on lvl 10. Carpone's Guide - U51 Comprehensive Guide to Bow DPS is very useful (I see a lot of work on it)

I've seen a lot of character builds on this forum, but they're very old. It's very confusing for new and returning players.

[bookmarked]

I've looked at this build several times, but I keep getting lost when I try to plug it into a build planner. I decided to finally sit down and plow through it and post where I'm having trouble.

Stats: I'm only able to do 28 point builds right now, but I usually go ahead and add the others for future reference. The problem here is that while I can make the 28 point stats from the table work for humans, I can't make the others work. I can make the 32 & 34 point stats work for dwarves, but then the 28 point stats don't work. I can't make the 36 point stats work at all.

Skills:
"Spellcraft - DAMAGE AH HA HA HA HA HA HA"
I sounds like you were being funny and included this as a joke, but after reading through the whole thread, I *think* this is for real, even though it tops out at 11 (or 11.5) as a non-class skill.

Swim - No cap on this skill, so maxing this and using merfolks blessing gives hilarious speeds that are faster than walking.

Swim - really? Wouldn't Concentration (for casting) or even Search be a better choice?

For an elf or dwarf version of this, I drop Swim altogether since you only get 5 skill points/level instead of 6.

Feats:

Level 6 - Dodge (Meh).
Level 9 - Improved Critical: Ranged (Best damage feat in the game)
Level 12 - Mobility (Meh) Could take quicken for consistent healing.
Level 15 - Shot on the Run (No -4 while moving is kinda good, and 4 ranged power is cool. Worth 3 feats? IDK)

You don't seem very enthusiastic about Dodge & Mobility, even though both are required for Shot on the Run. You mention Quicken Spell as a possible alternative (and again under Gameplay at L14), but then what else would you take at L6 & 12? Or would you stick with Dodge, Mobility, and Shot on the Run?

For a human, what would you take for the extra feat? Quicken Spell?

Enhancements:

For the order, the only thing I could see to go by was this:

With these trees, the path is simple.

Go into AA and start taking Acid damage
Get acid damage to the 4th tier and take soul magic
Spend points in Deepwood stalker until complete
Spend rest of points in AA for capstone

I wasn't sure if that is only for the "variable option" or for both versions.

For the second ("variable option") enhancements, AFAICT there's a problem. Soul Magic requires either Magical Training or all 3 ranks of Energy of the Wild (which grants Magical Training), but you dropped that from Arcane Archer. For a human, you *could* take Magical Training as the extra feat, but is that the best way to go?

Two things under Gameplay I'm assuming were dropped in later updates:

Merciful shot is bugged and works like 30% of the time. So if you use it and it doesn't work don't worry, it isn't just you. When it works it feels great but it generally will only go off on red named end bosses, and even then it sometimes just chooses not to work.

Whenever you see a caster type enemy cast any type of buff make sure you shut it down with a dispelling arrow. Taking the displacement off a skeletal enchanter in Madstone Crater will make you look like a God to the melee in your party. (Although TBH it should be dead before they get to it you if know what im saying pew pew pew)

Both were dropped, right?

Here's what I managed to put in the planner:

Strimtom's Acid Arrow (U49)
Ranger 20
True Neutral Human


Stats
. . . . . . . .28pt . . 32pt. . .34pt . . 36pt. . .Level Up
. . . . . . . .---- . . ----. . .---- . . ----. . .--------
Strength. . . . .8. . . .11 . . . 11. . . .10 . . . 4: DEX
Dexterity . . . 18. . . .18 . . . 18. . . .18 . . . 8: DEX
Constitution. . 16. . . .16 . . . 16. . . .18 . . .12: DEX
Intelligence. . .8. . . . 8 . . . .8. . . . 8 . . .16: DEX
Wisdom. . . . . 10. . . .11 . . . 13. . . .10 . . .20: DEX
Charisma. . . . .8. . . . 8 . . . .8. . . . 8 . . .24: DEX
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28: DEX

Skills
. . . . . 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
Heal. . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Spot. . . 4. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 23
Swim. . . 2. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 21
Spellcr . 2. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 11
Balance . 2. . .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .½ .11
UMD . . . 1. 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 . . 1. . .1 .11
Jump. . . 2. 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Tumble. . 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
. . . . .------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . .24. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6


Feats

.1. . . . : Point Blank Shot
.1 Human. : 
.3. . . . : Precision
.6. . . . : Dodge
.9. . . . : Improved Critical: Ranged
12. . . . : Mobility OR Quicken Spell
15. . . . : Shot on the Run
18. . . . : Weapon Focus: Ranged
21 Epic . : Overwhelming Critical
24 Epic . : Combat Archery
26 Destiny: Holy Strike
27 Epic . : Blinding Speed
28 Destiny: Doubleshot
29 Destiny: Fount of Life OR Toughness OR Harbinger of Chaos OR Embodiment of Law
30 Epic . : Epic Reflexes
30 Legend : Scion of: Plane of Earth

.1 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Undead
.5 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Elemental 
10 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Construct
15 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Evil Outsider
20 Ranger : Favored Enemy: Plant OR Human


Spells

Ram's Might (4), Jump (6), Resist Energy (14), Longstrider (18)
Barkskin (8), Cure Light Wounds (10), <Any>, <Any>
Cure Moderate Wounds (11), <Any>, <Any>, <Any>
Freedom of Movement (14), Cure Serious Wounds (15), <Any>, <Any>

Enhancements (Spent: 80 +0r +0u / Max: 80 +0r +0u AP)

Arcane Archer (41 AP)
Arcane Archer, Morphic Arrows, Metalline Arrows, Aligned Arrows, Shadow Arrows, Mystical Archer
Conjure Arrows, Energy of the Wild III, Corrosive Arrows, Awareness III
Force Arrows III, Elemental Damage, Attack Boost III
Terror Arrows, Soul Magic, Elemental Damage, Dexterity
Paralyzing Arrows, Smiting Arrows, Elemental Damage, Dexterity
Deepwood Stalker (39 AP)
Far Shot, Sneak Attack, Sniper Shot, Advanced Sneak Attack, Mark of the Hunted
Favored Defense I, Increased Empathy III
Survivalist, Melee/Range Power Boost III
Survivalist, Thrill of the Hunt I, Favored Hunter III, Aimed Shot, Dexterity
Survivalist, Killer III, Dexterity
Extra Favored Enemy: Human, Heavy Draw, Strikes Like Lightning, Improved Archer's Focus
Leveling Guide
AA0 Arcane Archer; AA1 Conjure Arrows
AA1 Corrosive Arrows; AA2 Elemental Damage; AA1 Energy of the Wild I
AA1 Energy of the Wild II, III; AA3 Elemental Damage
AA0 Morphic Arrows; AA2 Force Arrows I
AA2 Force Arrows II, III; AA3 Soul Magic
AA0 Metalline Arrows; AA4 Elemental Damage; DS0 Far Shot
DS1 Favored Defense I; DS1 Increased Empathy I, II, III
DS0 Sneak Attack; DS2 Survivalist; DS2 Melee/Range Power Boost I
DS2 Melee/Range Power Boost II; DS0 Sniper Shot; DS2 Melee/Range Power Boost III
DS3 Survivalist; DS3 Thrill of the Hunt I; DS3 Favored Hunter I, II
DS3 Favored Hunter III; DS3 Aimed Shot
DS3 Dexterity; DS0 Advanced Sneak Attack; DS4 Survivalist
DS4 Killer I, II, III
DS4 Dexterity; DS5 Extra Favored Enemy: Human
DS5 Heavy Draw; DS5 Strikes Like Lightning
DS5 Improved Archer's Focus; AA0 Aligned Arrows; AA3 Terror Arrows
AA4 Paralyzing Arrows; AA4 Smiting Arrows; AA1 Awareness I
AA0 Shadow Arrows; AA1 Awareness II, III; AA2 Attack Boost I
AA2 Attack Boost II, III; AA3 Dexterity
AA4 Dexterity; AA0 Mystical Archer

I swapped a couple of skill points from Swim to Tumble, but everything else is what I could glean from the OP. I'm sure I messed up something, but I'm not sure what.

Thanks!

[Notthross]

@bookmarked

I'm not the most knowledgeable one here, but I'm sure I can help you out.

First, I'm unsure what you mean by you can't make the points work with any of the races. I plug it in my builder and everything adds up perfectly every single time. My only conclusion is that you're trying to make races with -2 strength and the like equal 8 like the table states. This isn't needed; don't add points to those. Granted, Strimtom perhaps should have placed a dash as the value to indicate no changes, but as 8 is the base value, it's fine. Leave them at 6, or whatever.

Second, yes; Strimtom was being serious about Spell Craft. They were just going mad with the power it bestows.

Third, swim is at the bottom of the recommendations and is there exactly for the reason you dropped it for dwarves and elves: so that those who start at 10 intelligence are accounted for. There may be a dungeon where it would be useful, but it seems they chose it more for the fact it was silly-broken, as you can easily compensate with the Water Breathing ring you get at the beginning of the game or a potion. Honestly, pick whatever you want here.

Fourth, they were being "meh" about it because those feats are only worth it because of the end result and other feats might be better suited to another individual's playstyle. Honestly, you could drop those three and grab Quicken Spell (which would easily compensate for your concern of no Concentration skill), Magical Training, and something (anything) else.

Fifth, as a human, you could grab Magical Training from the start. That would be a small quality of life in the short term so that you can cast your imbue without needing an item or point in Energy of the Wild to just activate it the one time. In the long term, it's an eventual requirement at level 6 or so for when you want Soul Magic and it would save you 3 AP. You also wouldn't have to worry about dropping a feat to get Shot on the Run, although you could certainly replace it anyway.

Sixth, there isn't really a "best way to go." At worst, you're going to end up exactly where everyone else is, even if you could pick everything out of the order specified here. Realistically, if you can pick things earlier than what is called for (such as in the case of rolling a human), then do it. Or don't. It's not gonna break anything.

Seventh, there isn't a problem as outlined in previous points; if you can take the Magical Training feat, then you don't need Energy of the Wild. It's assumed by Strimtom that you'll make adjustments as needed to meet the requirements of that build.

Eighth, those were perhaps dropped, or they were there as informational points if you choose to grab them in the case where you have extra AP or don't desire a certain other enhancement.

Finally, the only things that I can tell you I'd change in that list is to drop Jump completely. You get the Jump spell and potions of +10 to Jump are aplenty. I'm not sure why you put exactly 3 points into it, but I'd just drop it completely. The max for the Jump skill's HEIGHT is 40 (it has other effects not listed). The Jump spell gives you +10 at min. level, +20 at 5th, and +30 at 9th. Those who put points into this skill pump it up to around 10 (depending upon what their strength modifier will be) in order to reach that magic number with the help of a potion or spell.

To sum up, you're taking this build as too cut-and-dried. Loosen up. Nothing's going to break if you modify it a bit here and there. Not one feat in this build makes or breaks it. Sure, you might be a little underpowered than someone else, but this isn't an end-game build, either. This build is meant to have fun with (especially newbies) and to possibly help you burn through those reincarnations to get more build points to make an end-game build.

While time-consuming, you can always visit Fred to change any feat you're not happy with and enhancements can be changed almost at any point you wish. Even your attributes don't really matter much in casual play. What's that you say? You accidentally left your wisdom at 8 and can't cast any spells? That's okay! Grab a guild for the +2 Guild Bonus from the airship and a bunch of potions of Owl's Wisdom for a +4 Enhancement Bonus! You're good to go!