Cyborg U66

Epicsoul

Epicsoul

Well-known member
Cyborg U66
A Warforged 20 Artificer, as the DDO gods intended​

I wanted to take a moment to share with you all a build that I've been fine-tuning since U66 dropped. First and foremost, I want to thank my guildies Sardonic and Knifepalm of the Lava Divers for their invaluable insights and discussions on gearing.

Now, let's delve into it. This Artificer build isn't intended to be META. Instead, it's crafted with the intent to capture the essence of the Artificer class, which to me is utilizing the Rune Arm and Heavy Repeating Crossbow; oh, and Warforged is a must. However, damage output not being the primary goal does not mean this build lacks damage. On the contrary, the build holds its own in high skull content and raiding. Considering all the changes made with U66, repeating crossbow users didn't fare as poorly as some other ranged builds did.

With the introduction of AOE ranged attacks, namely Thunder-Shock Weapon and Shatter Defenses for Artificer, these changes will carry this build throughout heroic leveling content. Additionally, Hunt's End and The Pluck of a String provided a much needed bump throughout epic and legendary content. Throw in Rune Arm use for added damage (mainly flavor) and Endless Fusillade, and you're well on your way to being a true Artificer.

You can find the build here: Cyborg U66

If you have any questions, suggestions, or simply wish to discuss further, feel free to reach out to me on the forums or via Discord at Epicsoul#3214.

Please note: this build utilizes available Class Enhancement and Destiny points. This includes all of Heroic, Racial, Iconic, and Destiny past lives, alongside tomes.
 
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Oliphant

Oliphant

Well-known member
Why not the Imbue Dice 3 piece augment set rather than perfect silence? Would also net you another 7 block and maybe you go Deadly weapons. Seems more boostable and the rune arm immunity strip is a fun mechanic for those situations. IDK, and curious. Noting the set is double rune cost, which is tad expensive.
 
kmoustakas

kmoustakas

Scourge of Xaos
Epicsoul said:
Cyborg U66
A Warforged 20 Artificer, as the DDO gods intended​

I wanted to take a moment to share with you all a build that I've been fine-tuning since U66 dropped. First and foremost, I want to thank my guildies Sardonic and Knifepalm of the Lava Divers for their invaluable insights and discussions on gearing.

Now, let's delve into it. This Artificer build isn't intended to be META. Instead, it's crafted with the intent to capture the essence of the Artificer class, which to me is utilizing the Rune Arm and Heavy Repeating Crossbow; oh, and Warforged is a must. However, damage output not being the primary goal does not mean this build lacks damage. On the contrary, the build holds its own in high skull content and raiding. Considering all the changes made with U66, repeating crossbow users didn't fare as poorly as some other ranged builds did.

With the introduction of AOE ranged attacks, namely Thunder-Shock Weapon and Shatter Defenses for Artificer, these changes will carry this build throughout heroic leveling content. Additionally, Hunt's End and The Pluck of a String provided a much needed bump throughout epic and legendary content. Throw in Rune Arm use for added damage (mainly flavor) and Endless Fusillade, and you're well on your way to being a true Artificer.

You can find the build here: Cyborg U66

If you have any questions, suggestions, or simply wish to discuss further, feel free to reach out to me on the forums or via Discord at Epicsoul#3214.

Please note: this build utilizes available Class Enhancement and Destiny points. This includes all of Heroic, Racial, Iconic, and Destiny past lives, alongside tomes.
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Repeaters are coming back baby! I have currently a warforged inquisitor at cap because I was using hunter's end comboes but now those are gone I am going to etr back to pew pew pew pew (that's 4 pews!)
 
A

Aggy

Active member
Thanks a lot for sharing. Very well presented. I have been looking for advice on gear etc. for a R10 capable Repeater Arti build. This will help me a lot!
There are rare versions of shattered device o_O ? I don't even think I have a full set of regular shattered device...
 
Epicsoul

Epicsoul

Well-known member
Aggy said:
Thanks a lot for sharing. Very well presented. I have been looking for advice on gear etc. for a R10 capable Repeater Arti build. This will help me a lot!
There are rare versions of shattered device o_O ? I don't even think I have a full set of regular shattered device...
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You’re welcome! And yes, Shattered Device rares do exist 😂, but common filigree are fine. I’m still missing the fort bypass rare myself.
 
Zvdegor

Zvdegor

Melee Artificer Freak
Aggy said:
Thanks a lot for sharing. Very well presented. I have been looking for advice on gear etc. for a R10 capable Repeater Arti build. This will help me a lot!
There are rare versions of shattered device o_O ? I don't even think I have a full set of regular shattered device...
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Some rare filigries almost never drops on reaper difficulty but on elite more often. Weird I know.
 
A

Aggy

Active member
May I ask why no improved precise shot? I thought that was super necessary...granted I haven't played a ranged char in years. What is your dodge at at cap? Why scion of plane of air instead of etherial for example? Is electric spell power that important? Also wondering if rapid reload isn't worth it or was it a tough decision to not take it?
 
Epicsoul

Epicsoul

Well-known member
Aggy said:
May I ask why no improved precise shot? I thought that was super necessary...granted I haven't played a ranged char in years. What is your dodge at at cap? Why scion of plane of air instead of etherial for example? Is electric spell power that important? Also wondering if rapid reload isn't worth it or was it a tough decision to not take it?
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While I've typically taken Improved Precise Shot on most ranged characters, I've never been its biggest advocate. However, with the introduction of AOE attacks in U66, I find it increasingly unnecessary. My dodge rating at cap is low, sitting at a mere 17%. The developers should update the Warforged race to modern standards and stop penalizing them. I chose Scion of the Plane of Air because electric spellpower scales imbue dice, grants evocation DCs, and +3 Imbue Dice, aligning with my approach of selecting options that complement my playstyle rather than solely focusing on maximizing DPS. Lastly, the Rapid Reload feat is automatically granted for Artificers.
 
A

Aggy

Active member
Epicsoul said:
While I've typically taken Improved Precise Shot on most ranged characters, I've never been its biggest advocate. However, with the introduction of AOE attacks in U66, I find it increasingly unnecessary. My dodge rating at cap is low, sitting at a mere 17%. The developers should update the Warforged race to modern standards and stop penalizing them. I chose Scion of the Plane of Air because electric spellpower scales imbue dice, grants evocation DCs, and +3 Imbue Dice, aligning with my approach of selecting options that complement my playstyle rather than solely focusing on maximizing DPS. Lastly, the Rapid Reload feat is automatically granted for Artificers.
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Thanks so much for your response and the insights! Agreed that the body types should be upgraded!
 
I

igotamike

Member
I've always found T5 Battle Engineer kind of underwhelming, thought U66 did make it better.

What would be your thoughts on dropping t5 in that and some out of harper and going 41 in Horizon Walker.

HW would give 82rp and 10 Doubleshot as well as some nice debuffs with mark Target.

Of course it you did this you'd probably want to switch to Gnome and use Light Repeaters, which would reduce your survivability and healing.

You could also swap to bow, fire off all your many shots and swap back. Not very Artificer like at all.....
 
A

Aerendil

Member
igotamike said:
I've always found T5 Battle Engineer kind of underwhelming, thought U66 did make it better.

What would be your thoughts on dropping t5 in that and some out of harper and going 41 in Horizon Walker.

HW would give 82rp and 10 Doubleshot as well as some nice debuffs with mark Target.

Of course it you did this you'd probably want to switch to Gnome and use Light Repeaters, which would reduce your survivability and healing.

You could also swap to bow, fire off all your many shots and swap back. Not very Artificer like at all.....
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T5 gets you a second AoE ranged attack which is absolutely critical to ranged builds now, as well as giving +20 ranged power. I wouldn't give that up IMO, considering that HW is 90% focused on bows only and useless to an artificer.
Besides, unless you have plenty of past lives, you just wouldn't have the AP for it. BE is essential IMO; as is Harper, at least as far as trance (the int to hit/dmg is a nice bonus too, and a wee bit more ranged power). Warforged memories of war also is huge. You want all of those.
 
I

igotamike

Member
I would not think that the T5 AOE is really a consideration. This is an end game build so one 30% damage attack every 12s would hardly matter. For leveling sure and the trip would be nice. I havent run the numbers but I would guess that hunts end / pluck a string is probably 70% of your xbow damage, and your rune arm / Tac D would probably be more effective for AOE.

Losing 35rp does suck. But you'd net 45rp and 10ds which is almost a straight 14% damage increase. As well hunters focus is huge for keeping your Focus stacks up. I would suggest from a damage standpoint HW would be a clear winner, but there are a lot of other factors to consider.
 
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Epicsoul

Epicsoul

Well-known member
igotamike said:
I would not think that the T5 AOE is really a consideration. This is an end game build so one 30% damage attack every 12s would hardly matter. For leveling sure and the trip would be nice. I havent run the numbers but I would guess that hunts end / pluck a string is probably 70% of your xbow damage, and your rune arm / Tac D would probably be more effective for AOE.

Losing 35rp does suck. But you'd net 45rp and 10ds which is almost a straight 14% damage increase. As well hunters focus is huge for keeping your Focus stacks up. I would suggest from a damage standpoint HW would be a clear winner, but there are a lot of other factors to consider.
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Your analysis of the 20 Gnome Artificer build utilizing T5 Horizon Walking raises some questions about the advertised 14% damage increase. While I won't actually do the math because, well, I don't want to, let's consider some of the opportunity costs and considerations that need to be factored in for a more accurate assessment.

First, it's not merely about the supposed net 45 ranged power and 10 doubleshot (which is a 1/3 of its value on reapeter btw) but also about what you're sacrificing to attain it. Going T5 HW means you also must go Gnome and use Light Repeating Crossbows for the crit profile, which you mentioned. This sacrifices the 15 ranged power and 25 spellpower from the Warforged tree. Additionally, the difference in weapon dice between Heavy and Light Repeating Crossbows must be considered. Moreover, acquiring the Construct Essence feat for Weapon Attachment leads to the question: what feat will you sacrifice? There is also some ranged power in Harper and imbue dice in Battle Engineer you'd undoubtedly lose due to a lack of action points. Lastly, Tactical Detonation, despite being fun, does not provide sufficient damage or DCs to justify its use consistently at end game on this particular build. But Thundershock Weapons is useful.

While a 20 Gnome Artificer utilizing T5 HW can indeed work, please recognize that it's not a clear-cut winner in terms of damage output, and certainly not 14%. But it is a clear-cut loser in terms of fun! Detailed math, not napkin math, is necessary to truly compare builds, considering all the factors and trade-offs involved. And regardless, my goal was to maintain the essence of playing like an Artificer while optimizing for effectiveness within the game's mechanics, and T5 HW is just gross on a Arti :).
 
W

wardestroyer

New member
I'm following this build during an arti PL, it feels so good to play the class right now with the AOE attakcs, expanded clip, and things triggering on all 4 shots like the epic strike. I took Scion of the Ethereal Plane instead of Air, and Improved Precision instead of the Paladin PL (mostly for clearing slayers, lol).

You could take Embodiment of Law instead of Enhanced Elemental Dice at L31, it's strictly better.
 
rabidfox

rabidfox

The People's Champion
Harbinger of Chaos: +2% Doublestrike and Doubleshot. If you are Chaotic, gain +2 Imbue Dice.
Embodiment of Law: +3 Physical and Magical Resistance Rating. If you are lawful, gain +2 Imbue Dice.

Chaos (and being chaotic alignment) means grabbing doubleshot with the imbue dice. Law isn't as good.

If you're doing a different arti setup where one goes t5 divine crusader (I did this for a while on my bubble arti to have the mass res from that tree), then going lawful aligned for both embodiment of law for the t5 ability that does extra light damage on hit by having that feat is solid (Law of the Divine: You gain the Embodiment of Law feat if you didn't have it already. If you had the feat, you now deal 1d6 Law damage on each attack per Epic or Legendary Level, scaling with 200% Melee or Ranged Power.)
 
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