4 Player Group

[Jagoren]

Hello all!
I and 3 other friends are thinking of playing together in DDO. We have played as a group for years now and we are wanting to try a new game.
Does anyone have any advice for class/race combos? Are there certain combos that work well together? Or do we just need to make sure
to have a tank/healer/dps? My first inclination is just keep it simple aka: Fighter or Paly, Rogue, Cleric and Wizard.
Keep in mind that 99% of the time we will be grouped with each other.
All 4 of us can do the monthly subscription if needed as well.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

[Varr]

Welcome to the game, envious of the adventure your group will be on the next 18 months or so.

Good idea with the core 4 concept for structure. Unless one of you loves rogues, I'd have you consider replacing the rogue with either an Artificer, or my true preferance, a 18/2 Wizard/Rogue. and Pali for the melee will serve you well.

Pali/AC/PRR/MRR focus sword and board
Pure Wizard or Warlock, DC caster Lich. Max Intelligence
Pure Cleric. Max Wisdom
18/2 Wizard/Rogue blaster wizard with rogue levels at level 1 and 4 or 5. Vampire or Lich Max Intelligence

Race is less important, pick what you like. Review the DDO Wiki before building toons for racial and class features.

[TitusOvid]

Welcome to the game.
I envy you as well, starting with a static group of friends is perfect.

Varr has made some excellent suggestions.
I'd like to give you a link to a build repository from Strimtom. It is the only one that is still active/up-to-date.
https://forums.ddo.com/forums/showth...43#post6134043

Get inspired.

Cheers,
Titus.

[adamkatt]

an 18/2 bard rogue works very well if your friend doesnt want to play a wiz rogue.

[C-Dog]

First, welcome to the game!

Wow, you're about to dive into the deep end... I'd suggest you consider this...

Before deciding on a starting party mix, everyone just pick something at random and play up to level 5 or so. It'll be fast, but you'll all get a feel for the game and for the different styles of play, and will have a MUCH better feel for party dynamics and some of the different build types.

(It also means that your "favorite" name won't get tied to a build that you soon find isn't at all what you thought it would be. )

Yes, it will delay "getting real about it", but you'll all have a second character (which will be useful down the road), and, as a rule, a "1st character" is often a naive mistake that many regret. This investment will help avoid that.

Or not - it's your show!

...We have played as a group for years now and we are wanting to try a new game.

Ok, first caveat - but SURE to use a forum approved build! DDO is not like any edition of D&D that you've played before, and if you believe that you're an expert from decades of combined build experience with tabletop editions and so can "make your own build, no problem", 95% likely you're in for painful disappointment. I speak from personal experience, and there are legions who can back me up.

Does anyone have any advice for class/race combos? Are there certain combos that work well together?

You're talking within a party?

There are no language barriers, and all races move the same base speed (before gear/enhancements/etc.) So, no, "Race" is not a consideration for party (except RP-wise), only for each individual build itself.

(The only exception might be Warforged, who require Repairing rather than Healing. If the party has an Artificer and/or Wizard this can be addressed, and self-healing is always possible, but "all fleshy" avoids the issue in the first place.)

Sim w/ class etc. - there are no restrictions on what Classes/Alignments can work together, or should. Put a Chaotic Evil warlock next to a Lawful Good Paladin, they can heal each other and crush the dungeon in style.

(In practice, "Neutral" is almost always the best overall choice for alignment, unless the build you're following specifically calls for something else - but we're getting ahead of ourselves.)

Or do we just need to make sure to have a tank/healer/dps? My first inclination is just keep it simple aka: Fighter or Paly, Rogue, Cleric and Wizard.

That holy trinity is not needed in DDO (with some few specific exceptions, i.e. some rare quests or raids that actually do require a tank and/or a dedicated healer), so throw that preconception out the window now.

DDO character building is flexible enough that characters can provide more than one "role" in the party - single-target DPS, AoE/trash DPS, crowd control (CC), trapping, healing, buffs. So, largely, and especially w/ 4 players, each should be able to play something that they want to play and not get tied down to "gotta play this role".

You will want (at least!*) 1 "trapper", and the only 2 "trapping" classes are Rogue or Artificer. The good news is that, in DDO, trapping is not dependent on the number of levels in a trapping class, only the number of ranks in the trapping skills! So, taking either Trapping class at Level 1 and then stuffing Skill Points into those skills can let you be a 19 X/1 trapper by end game, just as competent as a pure Rogue. (This is reflected in the 18/2 Wizard/Rogue and Bard/Rogue builds suggested above - the 2nd Rogue levels gives Evasion, which is a nice thing. Such choices are build-specific.)

(* If the party's one Trapper dies (and can't immediately be resurrected), it can be handy to have a back up. Ymmv, and hardly a dealbreaker.)

And with 4 you can afford to have 1 character who can heal a bit. In DDO, you do not ~need~ a "dedicated healer" - many builds can self-heal, and you can always bring a "Hire", an NPC healer to take care of healing between combats (not so good in combat), so this is a luxury, but one you can proly afford. As I said, doesn't have to be dedicated, so can be a multi-class build (and there are many reasons to do so, or not), but some sort of Cleric, Favored Soul, Bard or Artificer would be helpful along those lines. All can be very strong combat characters at the same time, and/or contribute in other ways.

So... talk amongst yerselfs, make a loose plan, and see what you can find on the boards that looks appealing. There are many ways to build a "solid" party, and so long as you have 1 trapper, the rest will fall into place one way or another.

And encourage the other 3 to post here if they have any questions - often an unexpected class mix can give the "feel" that a player is looking for in their build. Just as you don't have to be a (pure) Rogue to be a trapper, you also don't have to be a Ranger to be a ranged character, or have to be a Fighter or Barbarian to be a cleaver, or a Wizard to be a blaster.


Happy to suggest specific builds, but here's a place to start (some are old, but few are truly "obsolete". And many of those can be updated easily w a few tweaks. The important thing is, whatever builds you settle on, if they are not within a few months recent, post them on the forums and make sure they are "current". Always lots of players who are happy to help you polish them up to modern standards.)

(Re-)Start Here:

o Build Repository*

(* Some of the builds in these links are becoming old, but few of the builds are so dated that they won't work. A very few may be considered "obsolete" by current standards, but only in that there have been improvements which should not be missed, and some can be (easily/greatly) improved. The majority are still perfectly serviceable, just not "as maximized as they might (now) be". In some cases, a tree or rule change may provide a considerable update and improvement (e.g. Sorcerers, Paladins) - once you find something you like, post it on the boards and see if the build gurus have any insight on obvious/necessary improvements.)

o Strimtom's Build Repository

o Kent's Custom Character Builds
o Request a Build, Get a Build

[KoobTheProud]

If you are just playing together as a planned activity I would go pure classes for your first run through the game. I'd probably go Cleric, Fighter (Barbarian or Paladin just as good but Fighter is more flexible due to extra feats), Wizard, Rogue. Those are the four basic classes and they all work well together while not being particularly complicated to play.

[C-Dog]

(The OP hasn't replied nor had any "activity" in 2 weeks... make your own conclusions on that. )